A UK-based radio station, Radio Caroline, was found to have breached broadcasting rules after it mistakenly announced that King Charles III had died. The UK communications regulator Ofcom ruled that the broadcast violated its standards.
During a programme aired in May, pre-recorded audio files containing the statement, “As a mark of respect following the passing of His Majesty King Charles III, we have suspended our normal programmes until further notice,” were accidentally broadcast.
The announcement was followed by the national anthem and approximately 16 minutes of silence. Once the mistake was realised, the programme presenter apologised on air, saying that incorrect information had been broadcast by mistake and that the incident had resulted from a technical error.
Ofcom stressed that the incident involved a very significant inaccuracy concerning a matter of major public interest, and noted that the correction was not broadcast until approximately 30 minutes after the false announcement.
According to Ofcom's ruling, the pre-recorded files had in fact been played by a staff member “out of curiosity” while carrying out maintenance work, rather than as a result of a technical malfunction. The staff member was subsequently reprimanded and apologised.
AA