The ARD program "Bericht aus Berlin" on February 20, 2026, aired misleading footage depicting former Chancellor Angela Merkel applauding Friedrich Merz's re-election as CDU party chairman at the federal party conference in Stuttgart. Merz was re-elected with over 91 percent of the vote. However, Merkel was reportedly no longer in the hall during the re-election, and the footage shown was from an earlier moment after his speech. The ARD acknowledged the error, removed the incorrect segment from its Mediathek, and issued an apology. This incident follows recent criticism of ZDF for using AI-generated images in a "heute journal" report, which led to an apology and the recall of correspondent Nicola Albrecht. ARD, however, considers the cases incomparable.