“King Charles is dead.” That's it fake news has been circulating in recent hours on social networks and gossip sites abroad, notably in Russia and Ukraine. The UK's reaction was immediate, with London's embassies in Moscow and kyiv forced to categorically deny the news. “The news of the death of King Charles III is false,” said the British diplomatic representation in Ukraine from profile X, with a message highlighted on a red background in Ukrainian and English. Russian news agency Tax contacted Buckingham Palace directly for official confirmation, but received a response saying that the sovereign – who was diagnosed in February with cancer for which he is undergoing treatment, but who in recent days has appeared at several taken in photos and videos – not only is he alive, but “he continues to fulfill his institutional and private commitments, including weekly meetings with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak”.
From the flag at half mast to the Wikipedia page
Among the fabricated “evidence” that generated panic on social media and the spread of the hoax was a photo of the flag at half-mast at Buckingham Palace, a symbol of mourning in the palace. King Charles or Kate Middleton? Many are asking for it on social networks. As evidence of the false mourning, an edit of Carlo's Wikipedia page was also released with the altered date of his death. The site page had indeed been modified, but a few minutes later it was restored. The photo of the flag had already been used in September 2022 for the death of Queen Elizabeth. In addition, in recent hours a false statement from Buckingham Palace announcing the death of the sovereign has also circulated, but it was manipulated and ironically spread on social networks. Still other users shared a fake image of the grieving BBC logo, which was also later denied by the British channel itself. According to Russian media, the false news of Charles III's death was first spread on a Russian Telegram channel and then on other online platforms. The affair was probably fueled by the attention paid to the health of the king and, above all, of Kate Middleton, who underwent abdominal surgery last January. Not to mention that the family photo representing her with her children, reviewed and corrected during retouching, only fueled rumors and conspiracy theories, in the absence of declarations, until its diffusion by Tmz of the video in which the princess makes her first public appearance in more than two months.
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