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.