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A UK community radio station has been found to have breached broadcasting regulations after it mistakenly announced the death of King Charles III during a broadcast in May. The station, Radio Caroline, aired pre-recorded messages stating that the monarch had died, despite the King being alive. The announcement was followed by the playing of the British national anthem and about 16 minutes of silence before normal programming eventually resumed. The UK media regulator, Ofcom, ruled that the incident amounted to a significant breach of broadcasting accuracy rules.
According to Ofcom, the incident happened when a member of staff accessed pre-recorded audio files that had been prepared for use following the King’s eventual death. The employee reportedly opened the files “out of curiosity” while carrying out technical work and inadvertently triggered the station’s procedures for the death of a monarch. The announcement was broadcast three times, while the presenter, who was broadcasting remotely, initially failed to realise what had happened. The staff member reportedly panicked and left the premises after discovering the mistake, further delaying the correction.
Radio Caroline later apologised for the incident, while the staff member responsible was reportedly reprimanded and the pre-recorded obituary files were removed from the studio computer. Ofcom said broadcasters are required to ensure that news is reported with due accuracy and that significant errors are corrected promptly. The regulator concluded that both the false announcement and the delay in correcting it breached its rules, describing the incident as a “very significant inaccuracy.” The station has since reviewed its procedures to prevent a similar incident from occurring again.
