Media

German Mag’s Exclusive ‘Interview’ With Michael Schumacher Was Actually AI-Generated Drivel

BEYOND TASTELESS

“Die Aktuelle” claimed to have scored the first interview with the former F1 star since a 2013 skiing accident left him in a coma.

Germany's Michael Schumacher talks to reporters after finishing the first free practice session October 10 for Sunday's Formula One Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka Circuit.
Susumu Toshiyuki/Reuters

A German magazine raised some major eyebrows when it claimed to have scored the first interview with retired Formula One champion Michael Schumacher since he was gravely injured in a skiing accident in 2013. The only problem? All of the supposed answers from the racing legend were generated by AI. “Talk to him once. Ask him how he’s really doing. And finally got answers almost 10 years after his tragic skiing accident,” the article in Die Aktuelle began. The artifice behind the interview was only revealed at the very end. F1 fans were quick to slam the magazine for its “lack of decency,” and one German media commentator called the stunt “too stupid to be true.” Schumacher, who won seven F1 world championships, has been in a medically induced coma since 2013 and lives with his wife and a medical team at their home in Lake Geneva.

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