Argentine World Cup broadcaster accused of racial comment towards Ciara says clip is fake

· Yahoo Sports

Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Leandro Zapponi went viral for all the wrong reasons following the United States’ 2-0 win over Australia on Friday.

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A clip of the Argentine broadcaster was circulated after the game, and it appeared to show Zapponi making a racially insensitive comment about American singer-songwriter Ciara, who was shown on the broadcast alongside former NFL quarterback Russell Wilson. The viral clip suggested Zapponi asked, “Who is this black woman?” during Friday’s broadcast.

It appears the clip is fake. Zapponi and his broadcaster, DSPORTS in Argentina, both came out following the clip’s circulation with emphatic denials. Zapponi’s social media post included footage of the actual broadcast, which does not include the racially charged comment he was accused of making.

“In times of Fake News, these people are just trying to cause harm and spread hatred,” a translation of Zapponi’s post reads. “AI-modified audios that aren’t even funny. It’s sad to have to clarify that I never said and would never say something like that. Here’s the real clip from the broadcast.”

DSPORTS subsequently released its own statement,

“In the last few hours, videos from [DSPORTS’] broadcasts have surfaced that were deliberately altered with malicious intent, so we express our strong repudiation and invite you not to share these materials,” a translation of the statement read. “The videos are fake news that include racist, xenophobic, and discriminatory expressions that we emphatically reject.”

Unfortunately, instances like these are only likely to become more common in sports media, as AI-generated material becomes easier to create.

The post Argentine World Cup broadcaster accused of racial comment towards Ciara says clip is fake appeared first on Awful Announcing.

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