Die Aktuelle has been around since 1979, publishing hundreds of thousands of copies, with magazines published weekly by Gong Verlag.
While it has been in business for so long, and has garnered quite a lot of readers, one mistake proves to be a mishap that can turn the table for the worse for the company.
It happened when the publisher of the German magazine said that it ran an exclusive interview with Michael Schumacher.
In one of its editions, Die Aktuelle ran a front cover with a picture of a smiling Michael Schumacher and the headline promising "Michael Schumacher, the first interview."
Everything about the Michael is highly-sought, especially since the Formula One star experienced a tragic accident that robbed him from his brilliant career.
The seven-times F1 world champion has not been seen in public since December 2013, when he suffered a serious brain injury in a skiing accident in the French Alps.
This is why the Die Aktuelle's edition that has the interview with Schumacher quickly caught the attention of readers.
The thing is, as convincing it may be, it emerged that the article had been produced by a kind of generative AI.
Upon realizing this, Michael's family said that they were planning to file a legal action against Die Aktuelle, the weekly magazine owned by the Essen-based Funke media group, for saying and doing what they shouldn't.
The publisher issued an apology to the readers.
"This tasteless and misleading article should never have appeared," said Funke's managing director Bianca Pohlmann. "It in no way meets the standards of journalism that we and our readers expect from a publisher like Funke."
In addition, the publisher of the German magazine fired chief editor Anne Hoffmann.
"As a result of the publication of this article, immediate personnel consequences will be drawn. Die Aktuelle editor-in-chief Anne Hoffmann, who has held journalistic responsibility for the paper since 2009, will be relieved of her duties as of today."
The publisher also made a formal apology to the family of the Formula One legend
Michael Schumacher experienced an accident on December 29th, 2013, whiles skiing with his son Mick, descending the Combe de Saulire below the Dent de Burgin above Méribel in the French Alps.
While crossing an unsecured off-piste area between Piste Chamois and Piste Mauduit, Michael fell and hit his head on a rock.
Fortunately, Michael was wearing a helmet, which prevented instant death. But despite this, Michael has suffered a serious injury, which required immediate surgeries. Schumacher was airlifted from the slopes minutes after the accident to Moutiers Hospital, and was then transferred to CHU Grenoble, a larger hospital that specializes in head injuries.
Michael was even put into a medically induced coma because of the traumatic brain injury.
While family members said that Michael was seeing progress of healing, but none suggests that the F1 superstar could return to his former self.
It was reported that Michael, who was brought back to his home for further rehabilitation, was "paralyzed and in a wheelchair," and that he "cannot speak and has memory problems."
Schumacher’s family maintains strict privacy about the former driver’s condition, with access limited to only those closest to him.
"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," said Michael's wife, Corinna, in a 2021 Netflix documentary.
"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."
Michael Schumacher is considered a living legend in the world of racing and beyond.
After starting his racing career in karting, Schumacher enjoyed success in several junior single-seater series. Michael won his first and second drivers' titles consecutively in 1994 and 1995, before moving to the struggling Ferrari team in 1996. During his first years at the team, Schumacher lost out on the title in the final race of the season in 1997 and 1998 and suffered a broken leg from a brake failure in 1999.
But after that, he and Ferrari won five consecutive titles from 2000 to 2004, including unprecedented sixth and seventh titles, breaking several records.
After finishing third in 2005 and second in 2006, Schumacher had a brief retirement from the sport, and later made a return with Mercedes-Benz from 2010 to 2012.
Since the accident, Michael was the record holder for the most wins (91), pole positions (68), and podium finishes (155), before his records were broken by Lewis Hamilton.
The case with Die Aktuelle isn't the first.
Previously, the family had dealt with various publications that claimed to have had interviews, or access to internal information regarding Michael.