Queen death hoax spread by WhatsApp was result of royal navy drill
‘We regret any misunderstanding this may have caused,’ spokesperson says
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.False rumours that spread across the internet about the Queen having died were started after a military exercise, the royal navy has said.
Officials said they “regret any misunderstanding” after the hoax became widespread and said that “no significance” should have been drawn from the exercise.
Over the weekend, a rumour spread quickly across WhatsApp and then other social media channels that suggested the Queen had died.
It began when a screenshot of a conversation was shared online. In it, people suggested that the military had been secretly informed that the Queen had died.
“Queens passed away this morning, heart attack, being announced 930 AM tomorrow,” one person, referred to as ‘Gibbo’ in the chat, said. That person went on to provide specific details of the kit that should be brought and the procedures that should be followed.
The navy has now confirmed that it was conducting an exercise – but that it was simply a drill, and that nothing had happened to trigger the event.
“We can confirm an internal exercise took place at Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton in line with established contingency plans for recall of personnel,” a spokesperson told local paper Portsmouth News.
“These exercises are conducted on a regular basis and no significance should be drawn from the timing of the exercise.
“While the exercise was conducted properly, we regret any misunderstanding this may have caused.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments