Recently, a German Magazine named Die Aktuelle made headlines for its “interview” with Michael Schumacher who has not made any public appearances or statements ever since his accident in 2013.
Die Aktuelle released an “exclusive” titled “Michael Schumacher, the first interview”. This interview was not an actual interview with the 7-time Formula 1 Champion. The magazine had created a fake interview using AI.
The magazine mentioned that the interview was generated by AI at the end of the transcript. However, the Schumacher family was not happy with this and are looking at their legal options against Die Aktuelle.
What happened to Michael Schumacher?
On December 29th, 2013, Michael Schumacher had gone Skiing during his vacation in the French Alps with his son Mick Schumacher. The German World Champion had an accident while skiing. The condition of Michael Schumacher has been kept private by his family, and not much is known about how he felt after the accident.
Michael Schumacher used to ski regularly on vacations with his children. But what happened on December 29th was an unfortunate incident which has changed the life of the Schumachers forever.
According to reports, Schumacher was in a coma for several months following the accident, and it is likely that he was not conscious during that time. It is also reported that he underwent multiple surgeries and spent several months in the hospital and in rehabilitation.
Netflix released a documentary in 2021 called ‘Schumacher’. In the documentary, Corinna Schumacher, who is Michael Schumacher’s wife had this to say: “We live together at home. We do therapy. We do everything we can to make Michael better and to make sure he’s comfortable, and to simply make him feel our family, our bond,”
“We’re trying to carry on as a family, the way Michael liked it and still does. And we are getting on with our lives.“ “Private is private’, as he always said. It’s very important to me that he can continue to enjoy his private life as much as possible. Michael always protected us, and now we are protecting Michael.”
Since the accident, the Schumacher family has maintained a strict policy of secrecy regarding his condition, and very little information has been released to the public about how he is doing or how he felt after the accident.
What did the AI say in the interview?
In the so-called “exclusive interview” with the AI posing as Michael Schumacher, the AI had this to say:
“My life has completely changed since [the accident]. That was a horrible time for my wife, my children, and the whole family.” “I was so badly injured that I lay for months in a kind of artificial coma because otherwise, my body couldn’t have dealt with it all.”
Here are some reactions to the fake interview from the fans:
Good, sick and depraved behaviour, bankrupt them
— Chris Thompson (@CWThompson1965) April 20, 2023
Utterly shameful. Hope the magazine is sued out of existence. 🤦♂️
— Jirayr Kembikian (@JKembikian) April 20, 2023
And I thought the British press had little competition when it comes to lack of morals and poor taste….
— Steven Rowe〓〓 (@Steer_73) April 20, 2023
How low can they get?
unbelievable.
Can someone please explain the meaning of MORAL— Dreaming (@simple1418) April 20, 2023
The article was very disrespectful towards Michael Schumacher and his family. It also misled many racing fans across the globe which sparked a lot of anger and hatred toward Die Aktuelle. A spokesperson for the Schumacher family told ESPN that the family plan to take legal action against the magazine.