Here's how Russian media outlets reported 'fake' death of King Charles III
King Charles III
It was on Monday afternoon (Mar 18) that the news of British monarch King Charles III's death broke in the Russian media.
This disinformation spread by Russian media soon went viral with no one really verifying the details of the news as well as its source.
The rumour soon gained ground after it was shared on Vedomosti's Telegram channel. Vedomosti is one of the most respected business newspapers in Russia.
The news shared carried aphoto of King Charleswearing a ceremonial military uniform, and the caption read, “British King Charles III has died".
The news soon went viral across Russian internet channels, which included Readovka,a pro-Kremlin Telegram channel that has more than 2.35 million subscribers.
No public statement was released by Buckingham Palace and no announcement was made by BBC.
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However, Readovka said that it had a document, whose source was unknown and was shared with the photograph of the king.
“The following announcement is made by royal communications. The king passed away unexpectedly yesterday afternoon," it read. The document was dated 18 March 2024.
Even an abdication letter went viral in which Charles’s successor was named “King Bob, the yellow Minion”.
The news also reached Ukraine where it was shared by a leading television station. It also travelled to Tajikistan where its biggest independent media outlet Asia-Plus reported the same.
Fake news sparks meme fest, raises concern over disinformation
However, by the time the news started appearing on international media platforms, concerns were raised regarding its credibility.
Russian website Gazeta.Ru originally wrote on X: “King Charles III of Great Britain has died. This is reported by Buckingham Palace. The monarch was 75 years old. He was recently diagnosed with cancer.”
However, it later edited the post, which read, “At the same time, nothing has been written about this in the official British media. Most likely, the information is fake.”
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A Russian media editor also wrote an article, which carried the disclaimer: “I can’t tell if it’s true or not.” He later said that probably Buckingham Palace's website has been “hacked”.
However, the meme fest around the fake news hadalready started. A pro-Kremlin channel shared a photograph of King Charles’ head which was photoshopped in the Princess of Wales' recent photograph.
“Photo fact: Buckingham Palace has distributed a fresh photo of King Charles III to dispel rumours about his death,” wrote the channel.
Sharing the post, the Russian foreign ministry spokesperson wrote, “London looks pathetic."
Finally, Russian state news agency Tass' newsflash came which read, “King Charles III continues to perform his official duties and attend private engagements" and placed an end to all rumours.
(With inputs from agencies)