Argentine broadcaster Luzu TV has fired host Florencia Peña and the entire production team of El Show del Verano after a false report involving Lionel Messi’s family was aired during a live broadcast.
During the program, the host incorrectly stated that Jorge Messi, the football star’s father, had died, even claiming that Lionel Messi would have to leave the Argentine national team’s training camp in the middle of the World Cup.
Peña quickly corrected the statement, informing viewers that the report was false. A producer then took the microphone and accepted responsibility for the mistake. “We apologize on behalf of the production team because we released the information before completing the verification process,” he said.
The host also commented on the incident: “Someone handed this information to me, but I wasn’t looking at it. I hope it’s not true, I hope it’s false. That’s a bit of what happens in communication nowadays, isn’t it? You no longer know what’s fake and what’s real. You have to question everything until it’s confirmed.”
Shortly afterward, Messi’s family confirmed that Jorge Messi is alive and under medical supervision while recovering from a health issue. The family criticized the spread of the rumor and pointed to a lack of sensitivity in the coverage of the situation.
Following the negative backlash, Luzu TV announced the dismissal of the host and the entire team involved in the program’s production, describing the episode as a serious journalistic verification failure and reinforcing internal rules to prevent the dissemination of unconfirmed information.
On social media, Peña apologized to Messi and his family: “I must clarify that this false information was given to me live and was supposedly verified by the program’s production team, and I believed it. Even so, I take responsibility for being part of the mistake, which is why I decided to step away and end my participation at Luzu. I sincerely apologize once again; I was wrong.”
The case generated widespread attention in the Argentine media and reignited debates about the speed of information in live broadcasts and the risks of misinformation in high-profile sports coverage.
“Flor Peña”:
Porque en #ElShowDelVerano aseguraron que Jorge Messi había fallecido y luego aclararon que la noticia no estaba confirmada pic.twitter.com/uIINQLsoyF— ¿Por qué es tendencia? (@porquetendencia) June 18, 2026
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Photo and video: X @porquetendencia. This content was created with the assistance of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
