Popculture

Twitter Hoax Claims Queen Elizabeth Is Dead

With all of the high-profile celebrity deaths in 2016, it’s no wonder people are taking […]

With all of the high-profile celebrity deaths in 2016, it’s no wonder people are taking advantage of an already shocked world. Recently a fake BBC Twitter account pulled on heartstrings and sent people into a panic when it announced the death of Queen Elizabeth II. However, the Queen is still very much alive.

Many people have been worried about the Queen’s health over the last few weeks given that for the first time in decades, she missed the annual Christmas church service at Sandringham. She was suffering from a heavy cold. What’s more, the queen is 90 years old and the longest reigning queen in England and the longest reigning living monarch in the world. So, naturally, people are worried she could pass at any point.

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That worry is exactly what one fake Twitter account played with in the wake of a string of very emotional and high-profile deaths around the world. The fake account – @BBCNewsUKI โ€“ has since been deactivated, but was set up to look like the very real news account @BBCNewsUK. Due to the similarities in looks, many people easily mistook the news as real.

Of course, there were many others around the internet that didn’t believe the news at all.

Death hoax and fake news stories have been a major issue around the internet over the last few years, spreading misinformation everywhere. However, given the number of celebrity deaths in 2016, it would be easy to believe that another beloved person has passed.

Luckily, the Queen is still very much alive and well โ€“ or at least alive and fighting back a simple winter cold.

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[H/T PEOPLE]