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An embarrassing mishap: the French radio station RFI accidentally published hundreds of obituaries of personalities still alive. Among the celebrities honored Monday on the station’s website were British Queen Elizabeth II (94), Brazilian soccer king Pelé (80) and French actress Brigitte Bardot (86). The broadcaster apologized for the error and referred to a “technical problem”.
“We are working hard to solve this great mistake and we apologize to those affected and to you who follow us and trust us,” the international broadcaster said on the short message service Twitter.
Common media practice
The obituaries were prescribed by journalists in order to react quickly to an actual death, the broadcaster said. This is a common practice in many media.
The publication of the obituaries had caused numerous reactions on the Internet, ranging from confusion and misunderstanding to ridicule. Personalities accidentally declared dead by RFI also included former US President Jimmy Carter (96), American actor Clint Eastwood (90), Italian actress Sophia Loren (86) and Iran’s spiritual leader Ayatollah Ali Chamenei. (81). (SDA)
