Michael Schumacher’s family's huge legal victory
Michael Schumacher's family are celebrating a big win against a German magazine, after they published what they claimed was an "exclusive interview" but was actually AI-generated.
The family have received a compensation payment of 200,000 euros ($327,065 AUD) more than a year after the magazine printed the fake interview with the Formula One legend.
In April 2023, Schumacher appeared on the front cover of German publication Die Aktuelle under the headline, “Michael Schumacher, the first interview”.
The publishers left a very small hint on the page that the article wasn't real, although adding that the interview “sounded deceptively real”.
The article seemed to be a real interview, featuring artificial "quotes" from Schumacher about his health and his family.
However, Schumacher has famously not been seen publicly since his ill-fated skiing accident in the French alps in December 2013, and his health battle has been kept intensely private by his family.
But the article appeared to say otherwise, with one of there fake quotes reading, "I can, with the help of my team, actually stand by myself and even slowly walk a few steps.”
“My wife and my children were a blessing to me and without them I would not have managed it. Naturally they are also very sad, how it has all happened."
“They support me and are standing firmly at my side.”
A spokesperson for the Schumacher family confirmed to Reuters the $327,065 judgement had been made against Funke Mediengruppe, the owners of the magazine.
Funke Mediengruppe apologised to the family in the aftermath of the article and the editor of Die Aktuelle was sacked two days after it was published.
Image credits: Attila Kisbenedek/EPA & HANNIBAL HANSCHKE/EPA-EFE / Shutterstock Editorial