No, AI didn’t delete a Swedish reality TV series

Swedish broadcaster TV4 has denied reports that artificial intelligence deleted a forthcoming reality series due to launch next month.

According to an initial report from newspaper Aftonbladet, the incident involving the entire second series of The Challenge Sverige happened after production company Mastiff “let an AI agent into the server”, which deleted the fully edited show.

TV4 confirmed the show, due to premiere next month, has had to be recut, pushing its launch into 2027.

TV4’s programme director Mia Lindqvist subsequently denied that AI was responsible for the mishap, telling Aftonbladet that the issue was down to a backup failing. An investigation by TV4 found that the show was deleted due to human error, with no AI involved.

“The raw material is there, so it’s no problem, but of course it means we lose time,” she added.