OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. – News 6 has obtained video from Osceola High School’s morning announcements last month that featured an image of Adolf Hitler.
The video, which prompted the school district to launch an investigation, opened with a photo of Hitler with his arm extended.
“Good morning, Kowboys! Today is Friday, Jan. 30,” an automated female voice on the video stated. Kowboys refers to Osceola High School’s mascot.
“Today in history – 1939 – Adolf Hitler threatened Jews during his speech to the German Reichstag (Parliament),” the voice said as matching text appears on the screen.
The video then immediately cut to graphics congratulating the school’s “Student of the Day” and “Teacher of the Week,” followed by a series of additional high school announcements about class photos, Literacy Week, and Prom.
School district officials, citing the ongoing investigation, would not answer questions from News 6 inquiring about how the Hitler image was included in the video.
Footage from the previous morning’s announcements obtained by News 6 suggests the information about Hitler may have been part of a regular educational segment called “Today in History”.
The video from Jan. 29 opened with a photo of William Shakespeare.
“Today in history – 1595 - William Shakespeare’s play ‘Romeo and Juliet’ is thought to have been first performed,” the automated voice said.
Both videos appear to have been created with a popular editing application that can convert text into voiceovers using artificial intelligence.
School district officials have not disclosed whether a student or staff member created the video and who else may have viewed it before it was broadcast at the high school.
In a letter posted on the school’s social media pages, the day the Hitler video appeared, Osceola County High’s principal said the “inappropriate image” was immediately removed.
“We want to be absolutely clear: this content does not reflect the values, beliefs or ideology of Osceola High School,” wrote Dr. Elizabeth Kennedy. “An internal review began right away, and we are addressing this egregious error with the individual responsible. Appropriate actions will be taken in accordance with school and district policies.”