France’s right-wing TV channel, CNews, suffered a blow live on air after political commentators ridiculed Yaël Braun-Pivet, president of France’s National Assembly, for allegedly featuring on the cover of tabloid magazine “Closer” on 4 May.
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However, the magazine cover was actually AI-generated.
The cover depicts politician Braun-Pivet alongside Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, former minister of education under ex-socialist President François Hollande, besides a title which reads “For them, it’s not a crisis!”
“It’s a way for her to say, ‘Look, I’m a bit left-leaning; look, I’m friends with Najat Vallaud-Belkacem’—that’s what it means to Yaël Braun-Pivet,” said one political commentator on the show. “You know she wants to play a role in the presidential election.”
The broadcaster corrected its mistake during its live coverage, but that did not stop Braun-Pivet from hitting back at CNews commentators in a video posted on her social media platforms, pointing out that the fake cover didn’t look like her.
“Today, the line between what’s real and what’s fake has never been as fragile,” she said. “So, in this context, media outlets have a huge responsibility.”
“Reporting isn’t just about passing on information; it’s about verifying it”, Braun-Pivet added.
The president of the National Assembly announced she would refer the matter to the Arcom, France’s audiovisual regulatory body.
Pascal Praud, the conservative political commentator who shared false statements about the cover on his show, responded to the controversy on X, admitting that Braun-Pivet was “right”, but emphasised that the error was corrected “live a few minutes later.”
Although the magazine cover shared by CNews is fake, Braun-Pivet and Vallaud-Belkacem were photographed together in late April on the sidelines of a film screening in Paris.
Closer magazine shared behind-the-scenes footage of the shoot on its social media, in which Braun-Pivet can be seen wearing a suit, while Vallaud-Belkacem wears a two-piece denim outfit — meaning they do not match the fake magazine cover.
CNews has been handed repeated fines by the Arcom in the past for a range of misconduct, including airing climate disinformation, as well as broadcasting hateful content.
