The Austrian broadcaster ORF accidentally incorrectly subtitled the swearing in of the new government in its in-house media library. Several recordings circulated on social media, in which the ceremony is backed by wrong dialogues.
Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen therefore says to Chancellor Sebastian Kurz sentences such as: "Well ... you ... chick?" and "My favorite would have been Rupert." Screenshots of another scene show Kurz and Van der Bellen with the subtitle "You can start here. As a waiter."
These wrong subtitles in the TVthek are really the best of the year so far. I laugh tears. pic.twitter.com/PoDGO63YCi
- Flo . Schmidt (@FloPSchmidt) January 7, 2020The mistake caused amusement on social media. The ORF responded in a statement. "ORF regrets the incident and apologizes for it," it said.
Here is the @ORF statement on the wrong subtitles in the TVthek-On-Demand offer for today's swearing-in of the new federal government. We apologize for the mistake. pic.twitter.com/Y4q2IZYCfy
- Martin Biedermann (@MartinBiederman) January 7, 2020The breakdown occurred "due to a processing error". The wrong subtitles were therefore only shown in the "on-demand version of today's special broadcast on the swearing-in of the federal government". "The main program of ORF2 and the TVthek livestream were not affected," tweeted ORF spokesman Martin Biedermann.
Accordingly, the wrong subtitles have now been replaced. According to the Austrian website Krone.at, the telenovela "Alisa - Follow Your Heart" should normally have been running at the time of the swearing in. This explains the bizarre glitch.