The rumour was started by a man called Gibbo and caught fire very quickly
Twitter can be a fantastic source of breaking news, but as we are all aware, it can also be a fantastic source of shitehawkery - or what Donald Trump might call 'fake news'.
That was the case yesterday evening, when a rumour quickly spread that the 93-year-old Queen Elizabeth II had died.
It stemmed from a screenshot of a WhatsApp message sent by someone called 'Gibbo', which appeared to be a message to his fellow soldiers. In it, he tells them that she had a heart attack, that her death will be announced at 9.30am today and what uniform/gear is required for the next two weeks.
However, if you looked a bit closer at his avatar...
If it’s true that the Queen is dead and it was leaked from a WhatsApp group with an erect penis as it’s profile pic... then I humbly request the programmers of this simulation to wake me the fuck up please. pic.twitter.com/oo7NCXfhPk
— Tez (@tezilyas) December 1, 2019
Needless to say, the Queen has not died - as confirmed this morning by a Royal 'expert':
I see we have reached that time of year where I have to dispel rumours of HM's passing.
The Queen is not dead. She is alive & well and is very much looking forward to hosting President Trump and other world leaders at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday for the NATO reception.— Charlie Proctor (@MonarchyUK) December 1, 2019
However, the rumour took flight quite quickly and some of the reactions were fairly amusing...
The Queen is dead certain Freddos are overpriced pic.twitter.com/rOO6gzJE8g
— Ciara Knight (@Ciara_Knight) December 1, 2019
The Queen announcing she ain’t dead tomorrow https://t.co/RNq7qu12F5
— hannah anti (@antihan_) December 1, 2019