A false notice said to have been released by Buckingham Palace wrote: ‘The King passed away unexpectedly yesterday afternoon.'
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The new chapter in the thorny relationship between the media and Britain’s royal family has a Russian disinformation angle amidst concerns about King Charles's health.
Fake news about the death of King Charles III were spread on Monday by Russian pro-Kremlin Telegram channels such as Mash and Readovka, which have millions of followers, and several media outlets such as Sputnik, sanctioned by EU for propaganda.
A screenshot with a fake statement attributed to the Buckingham Palace was shared as proof. The file was closely modelled on the palace’s announcement of late Queen Elizabeth II's death.
There were also speculations on the social media platform X, including mentions of flags at half-mast in government buildings, circulating and fuelling the rumours before the fake news went viral.
Disinformation travelled quickly, reaching other countries even though there was no official confirmation or announcement from the Royal Family.
After it was reposted in Ukraine, the British Embassy published a statement denying the fake news. "We would like to inform you that the news about the death of King Charles III is fake." The same situation occurred in Azerbaijan.
Conspiracy theories about the Royal Family have been spreading recently due to the absence of its members from the public because of health issue.
The Vulture traced the origin of the fake news to the post on a Pakistani outlet from 16 March, it was picked up by X accounts regularly sharing conspiracy theories.