ZDF channel crisis after fake videos: Kubicki talks about a "scandal" and calls for a new beginning for broadcasting.
Germany’s public broadcaster ZDF is facing a major backlash after airing a news report that included unlabeled AI-generated and misleading video footage. The incident has reignited debate over trust, accuracy, and the future of the broadcasting fee system.
FDP politician فولفغانغ كوبيكي described the incident as a “ZDF scandal” and called for political action. He said Germany could not justify a billion-euro license fee system if manipulated or manipulative reporting was becoming normal practice. He urged federal states to terminate current broadcasting contracts and renegotiate the structure of public broadcasting.
Criticism also came from North Rhine-Westphalia’s media minister ناتانيال ليمينسكي, a member of the ZDF Television Council. He said public broadcasters are obligated to provide reliable and balanced information, and that the way the report was produced undermined this mission. Instead of exposing disinformation, the report relied on unrelated footage and AI-generated images.
The controversial report aired on February 15 on the ZDF news program “heute journal” and focused on deportations of minors by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Two video sequences caused outrage. One showed a woman being led away while children cried, presented as parents being separated from their children. The footage was fully generated using the AI tool “Sora” by OpenAI but was not labeled as artificial. Another clip showed a boy being detained at school, described as part of current ICE operations, although it actually came from a 2022 case in Florida.
Presenter دونيا هايالي had warned viewers about fake videos circulating online, yet the broadcast itself used misleading material. ZDF initially called the mistake a technical error and removed the program from its media library. After continued criticism, the broadcaster deleted the original report from all platforms and released a revised version with different footage and adjusted narration, stating that the video had been changed for editorial reasons.