Koning Charles — © AP
British King Charles is dead, or so several Russian media report. However, the frost is alive and well until further notice, it is a ‘fake news’ story.
Several Russian media reported ‘breaking news’ on Monday afternoon: British King Charles was dead. The Telegram channel of the respectable business newspaper Vedomosti was the first to report the news, after which it was quickly picked up by all kinds of other Russian media.
The pro-Kremlin Telegram channel Readovka, which has 2.35 million followers, even showed an apparently official document from Buckingham Palace with the – albeit rickety – message: “The following announcement is made by royal communications: the king passed away unexpectedly yesterday afternoon ”. Another version showed a letter announcing the royal succession, although the mention that “King Bob, the Yellow Minion” would succeed Charles immediately showed the implausibility of the message.
Yet the news was also taken up in Ukraine, where the largest television station reported on it. A major news medium also took over the news in Tajikistan. However, major Russian media had now checked the news and debunked the report.
Jokes
That hasn’t stopped jokers on social media from laughing at the news, including with a Photoshop creation of Charles with Kate Middleton’s head on his shoulders – a reference to the recent fuss surrounding the edited image of the princess. “Buckingham Palace is releasing a new photo of King Charles to debunk rumors of his death,” he said sarcastically. That message was even shared by the spokesperson of the Russian Foreign Ministry.