The ZDF remains rattled after the recent scandal over AI‑generated images in the “Heute Journal”.
On the broadcaster’s intranet, several hundred employees have rallied against an unnamed colleague who apparently recorded an internal crisis meeting and subsequently passed the footage on.
In a comment, Hubert Krech, a member of the staff council, addressed the anonymous employee:
“Do you think you’re a hero because you “really showed” this to the ZDF and the bosses? Are you sure?” He wrote. Almost 600 employees gave the remark a “like” which Krech claims set a new record for the intranet.
The recordings and notes from the so‑called OpenCR assembly have made their way into the press. The portal “Nius” released excerpts that include comments from ZDF senior editor Bettina Schausten and Washington correspondent Elmar Theveßen, while “Der Spiegel” now also appears to have gained access to the intranet.
Krech continued:
“At least you fed people with information that only aim to damage ARD and ZDF. In the meantime, you spouted contempt in front of thousands of colleagues-people who may have sat beside you for years or decades, who work with you, laugh, cry, vent frustrations, and share joys. You especially exposed colleagues who had come forward in the OpenCR, revealing portals that are waging war against us”.
He added:
“I believe you are merely a ‘useful idiot’ for those who wish to destroy us. You’re being used to harm us”.
