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ER Editor: Another European public broadcaster gets an embarrassing BBC-style outing. See our updated coverage of the BBC problem HERE. The BBC’s attempt to get the case dismissed against Trump was not successful.
French public television is also undergoing an investigation. See —
Briefcases full of cash, settling scores – French get their BBC moment
This German report sounds very odd to us, with a serious public broadcaster using clearly watermarked AI footage for a hot button US topic. Which obviously invites the ire of the Trump administration. Seriously …
A reminder of a report about ZDF and its biases from April 2024, almost two years ago —
Employees of German Public Media in Quiet Revolt Against Shocking Level of Bias
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ER: For a more in-depth look, see this Apollo News report from yesterday by Max Roland —
Fake affair exposes ZDF: This scandal hits public broadcasters to the core
ZDF is unusually aggressive in its handling of the fake affair surrounding AI clips. This is pure damage control. The scandal exposes the public broadcaster’s aura as a supposed bastion against fakes and disinformation – and deprives it of its right to exist.
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German public broadcaster ZDF apologizes after AI-generated ICE arrest footage aired on flagship news program
The German public broadcaster admitted editorial failures after a fake video and misidentified footage were used in a report about U.S. immigration enforcement
THOMAS BROOKE for REMIX NEWS
German public broadcaster ZDF has issued an on-air apology after its flagship news program, Heute Journal, aired a segment containing AI-generated footage depicting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers arresting a migrant family.
The controversy followed the Feb. 15 broadcast, which ZDF said examined fears in parts of the United States over immigration enforcement operations. Viewers quickly noted on social media that portions of the footage were artificially generated, with an OpenAI Sora watermark visible on screen. (ER: As you do when you’re a professional media operation…)
During Tuesday’s broadcast, ZDF deputy editor-in-chief Anne Gellinek addressed viewers directly, acknowledging what she described as a double editorial failure.
“And now on a matter concerning ourselves. Here on Heute Journal on Sunday evening, we broadcast a report that contained editorial errors, which we would like to correct here,” she said.
NEW: 🇩🇪🇺🇸 German public broadcaster ZDF’s on-air apology for broadcasting AI-generated images of ICE agents arresting a migrant family in the United States.
“We invest a great deal in providing you with verified information. We didn’t manage to do that this time.”
It also… pic.twitter.com/7xfqlWMUzM
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) February 18, 2026
Gellinek explained that while reporting on real ICE operations, the program had shown AI-generated material instead of authentic footage.
“When showing real operations carried out by ICE officers, the report displayed a video generated using artificial intelligence. The video was created with the AI tool Sora, as indicated by a watermark. The use of such AI-generated images violates the AI rules that are standard at ZDF,” she said.
She noted that ZDF guidelines prohibit the use of AI-generated images or videos depicting people or political events in news reporting. While AI-generated material can be shown when reporting specifically on AI fakes, she said this was not the case in the segment.
“Reports explicitly address AI fakes, but since this was not the case in the report, simply labeling it would not have been sufficient,” Gellinek added.
ER: Not one but TWO errors!
A second error occurred in the same report when footage believed to show an ICE operation was later found to depict a separate police operation from 2022. According to Gellinek, verification procedures for social media footage were applied too late.
“A double error, which we are now carefully reviewing, and which is particularly painful because we at ZDF News invest a great deal of effort to provide you with verified information. This time, we failed to do so. For that, I, as head of ZDF News, would like to expressly apologize to you, our viewers. This report did not meet our high standards,” she said.
The segment itself showed scenes of a woman and two children being escorted away by officers presented as ICE personnel, with agents at one point referred to as “troops” in the narration.
It remains unclear whether the AI-generated content was created internally or sourced externally and insufficiently verified before broadcast. ZDF has not provided details on how the material entered the production process.
The broadcaster later removed the AI-generated footage and replaced the segment in its online media library. The updated version now carries a note stating, “Video subsequently changed for editorial reasons.”
The incident has also revived debate over the funding and standards of Germany’s public broadcasting system. All households in Germany are required to pay a broadcasting fee of nearly €20 per month (ER: wow), financing networks including ZDF and ARD, amounting to several billion euros annually.
ZDF says it is reviewing internal procedures following the incident to prevent similar editorial failures in future broadcasts.
Source
Featured images source: https://x.com/MarioNawfal/status/2024208547291037895
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