Buckingham Palace forced to deny King Charles III has died after false report in Russian media

A Russian state media story, evidently inspired by social media gossip, forced Buckingham Palace to deny that King Charles III is dead. Charles announced that he has cancer in January and is undergoing treatment. It's a warning to content-hungry media that the bottom has fallen out on Twitter, where all this came from today.

The statement, dated March 18 and featuring the seal of the British monarch's official London residence, said: "The following announcement is made by royal communications. The King passed away unexpectedly yesterday afternoon."The palace issued a statement to the Russian state-run TASS news agency denying the report.

"We are happy to confirm that The King is continuing with official and private business," it read.

Just don't ask about Kate, OK? [Fox News, archive]