Florencia Peña Dismissed from Luzu TV After False Report of Lionel Messi’s Father’s Death

Luzu TV terminated host Florencia Peña and two producers after she announced on live television that Jorge Messi, the father of football star Lionel Messi, had died – a claim that was later proven false. The channel called the broadcast “inadmissible” and emphasized the need for prior verification. Peña retracted the story minutes later, apologising on air: “Es fake, me lo tiraron por acá y yo no estaba mirando…”. Luzu TV issued a formal statement saying the incident violated its standards and that Peña would step aside.

Channel head Nicolás Occhiato later addressed the controversy, acknowledging the human error, taking full responsibility for the channel’s actions, and confirming that the matter had been resolved internally. He stressed that no malicious intent was involved and that the audience’s trust remained intact.

Media personality Mario Pergolini used his program to reflect on the incident, recalling his own 1990s mistake of falsely reporting the death of singer Phil Collins. He warned that the drive for immediacy in the digital age must be balanced with rigorous fact‑checking, urging all broadcasters to verify information before airing it.