The editor-in-chief of the German gossip magazine Die Aktuelle has been fired with immediate effect due to the publication of a fake interview with former Formula 1 driver Michael Schumacher. Anne Hoffmann has been editor-in-chief since 2009.
In last weekend’s edition, it seemed as if the former driver had spoken to the media for the first time since his serious skiing accident in 2013. On the front page was a picture of Schumacher with the text “The first interview” and below that “It sounds deceptively real”.
“My life has completely changed since the accident,” is one of Schumacher’s supposed quotes inside the magazine. At the bottom of the interview it is stated in small letters that the interview was made on the basis of artificial intelligence.
Tasteless and misleading
Schumacher suffered brain damage as a result of the skiing accident in 2013 and was kept in a coma for six months. Since then, his family has barely disclosed his medical condition.
“This distasteful and misleading article should never have appeared,” said publisher Funke in a statement. “It in no way meets the journalistic standards our readers expect of us.”
The publisher has apologized to Schumacher’s family. He announced this week that he would take legal action against the magazine.
- Michael Schumacher family to court over fake interview in German gossip magazine
