00:00How did an AI-generated tabloid cover fool French political commentators?
00:09This week, France's right-wing TV channel Cinews suffered a blow live on air.
00:15On the 4th of May, the broadcaster aired a segment in which it mocked the president of France's National Assembly,
00:21Yael Brun-Pivet, for allegedly featuring on the cover of tabloid magazine, Closer.
00:26And then we'll end with Yael Brun-Pivet and Najat Vallaud-Belkacem.
00:31So now, everything makes sense. I assure you, everything makes sense, and especially how they're dressed.
00:37That's to say, Ms. Brun-Pivet, you'll see her.
00:41In the picture, the politician is pictured alongside Najat Vallaud-Belkacem,
00:46the former minister of education under ex-socialist president François Hollande.
00:50Except the magazine cover is in fact AI-generated.
00:53The broadcaster corrected its mistake in its live coverage only a few minutes after it initially presented the magazine cover
01:00as authentic.
01:01But Brun-Pivet hit back at Cinews commentators in a video posted on her social media platforms,
01:07pointing out that the fake cover didn't even look like her.
01:10She also announced she would refer the matter to the ARCOM, France's audiovisual regulatory body.
01:15Pascal Praud, the conservative political commentator who shared the false statements about the cover,
01:20responded to the controversy on X, admitting that Brun-Pivet was right.
01:24Although the magazine cover is fake, Brun-Pivet and Vallaud-Belkacem were recently photographed together
01:31on the sidelines of a film screening in Paris.
01:34Here, Closer magazine shared behind-the-scenes footage of the shoot.
01:37Brun-Pivet can be seen wearing a suit, while Vallaud-Belkacem wears a two-piece denim outfit,
01:42both of which are different to the fake magazine cover.
01:46Cinews has been handed repeated fines by the ARCOM in the past for a range of misconduct,
01:51including airing climate disinformation as well as broadcasting hateful content.
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