The
UK has been forced to deny 'fake' claims on
Russian media outlets that King Charles has died unexpectedly. A number of media outlets falsely claimed the
British monarch had unexpectedly died on Sunday, March 17. In
Russia, a screenshot of a mocked up and non-existent death announcement by Buckingham Palace was widely spread. The bogus news reported by several prominent outlets but it wasn't clear if the propaganda machine of Vladmir Putin was directly behind it, reports MirrorOnline. The publication of the claims followed criticism in Western countries, including Britain, of Putin's
election victory in the country's presidential contest, amid claims it was 'rigged'. A notice in Russian was posted onto Telegram by the British embassy stressing that the reports around the death of King Charles were fake. READ MORE: DWP claimant discovers he's entitled to extra £500 a month after 10-minute check Get
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WhatsApp , click the link to join The announcement read: "Reports about the death of King Charles III of Great
Britain are fake. Britain's embassy in
Ukraine issued a similar message. Among the outlets running the fake report early were Readkovka and Mash, later correcting them. Both outlets are staunchly pro-Putin. Mash media outlet wrote: “Britain's King Charles III has died, Buckingham Palace reports. The son of Elizabeth II ascended the throne less than a year ago - the coronation took place on May 6, 2023. He was 75 years old. It updated to say “the message turned out to be fake” while adding: "Let us remember that a few months ago he was diagnosed with
cancer.” And later the outlet stated: “The
fake news about the death of Charles III quickly spread and was just as quickly debunked. The King of Great Britain is alive and continues to go about his business. At least that's what Buckingham Palace says. Officials said the same thing after the first news of the death of Elizabeth II. Literally four hours later an official statement was issued: the
Queen had died. What was it and is everything so rosy for the current British monarch?” Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov’s spokeswoman Maria Zakharova joined the fray, posting: “London looks pathetic.” Pro-Kremlin BAZA online media posted: “The Russian media reported the death of British King Charles III with reference to a document allegedly published by Buckingham Palace. The screenshot of the message about the death of Charles III turned out to be fake.” The fake Palace announcement was dated today and said: “The King passed away unexpectedly yesterday afternoon.” It was purportedly from Royal Communications. Independent outlet Meduza, which stated: “A number of media and Telegram channels reported the death of the British King Charles III - with reference to a fake statement from Buckingham Palace. A screenshot of the statement, which became a news source, is provided, in particular, by the BAZA Telegram channel. This statement is not on the website or social networks of the
Royal Family .” Russian state news outlet RIA Novosti corrected its earlier report while admitting it was based on “rumours”, stating: “The press service of Buckingham Palace denied RIA Novosti rumours about the death of King Charles III. He continues to conduct official and private affairs. Information about Charles’ death appeared some time ago in many Russian sources. The basis for it was a certain message, the authorship of which was attributed to Buckingham Palace and which, apparently, turned out to be a fake.” State news agency TASS reported that the story was fake. The Kremlin’s own newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta, published by Putin’s government, wrote: "King Charles III continues to carry out work and private affairs, Buckingham Palace said. Previously, many Telegram channels published unverified and false information about the death of the monarch.”