Curiosity got the better of a staff member at a United Kingdom (UK) radio station, with rather unfortunate consequences.
After coming across pre-recorded announcements prepared for the eventual death of King Charles III, the staff member decided to play the files to hear what they sounded like.
The problem? They accidentally broadcast them to listeners, falsely announcing that the King had died.
The staff member panicked and left the premises, and it took the station 30 minutes to issue an apology on air.
UK communications regulator Ofcom detailed the incident in a report published on 10 Aug.
It involved community radio station Radio Caroline and its weekly programme, ‘The Barry Marsh Show’.
At 2pm on 19 May, the programme began as usual, with its presenter streaming the show remotely to the playout computer in the station’s main studio.
At the same time, a member of staff carrying out maintenance on the studio computer came across three pre-recorded audio files prepared for use in the event of King Charles III’s death.
Source: @theroyalfamily on Instagram
According to Radio Caroline, the files came with a strict set of instructions for presenters and managers to follow before they could be aired.
However, the staff member became curious about what the announcements sounded like and played the files at around 2.05pm.
Unfortunately, playing the files interrupted the presenter’s remote stream and sent the prerecorded announcements straight onto the air.
Listeners who had been hearing a music track were suddenly told:
This is Radio Caroline; we have suspended our normal programmes until further notice as a mark of respect following the passing of His Majesty King Charles III.
Source: Radio Caroline on Facebook, for illustration purposes only
Two other statements followed, including one claiming that “the news media has confirmed that His Majesty King Charles III has passed away”.
The national anthem was then played, before one of the announcements was repeated.
Once the staff member realised what had happened, Radio Caroline said they stopped the files, “panicked and left the premises”.
The incident also knocked the regular programme off air. Listeners tuning in via digital radio were left with around 16 minutes of silence, while those listening on AM heard a backup broadcast of continuous music.
Because the presenter was streaming the programme remotely, they did not immediately realise that their show was no longer going out on air.
Radio Caroline said its station director, who had been monitoring the AM output, noticed that continuous music was playing instead of the scheduled programme.
He contacted the station engineer, who was already aware of the problem and investigating it.
The engineer subsequently restored the programme and tried to contact the presenter. However, this took some time as the presenter believed they were still on air and was not actively checking their phone.
At around 2.35pm, approximately 30 minutes after the false announcements first aired, the presenter apologised to listeners:
I’ve just been informed that we’ve played in error some information a little earlier, I didn’t hear this myself, but it is incorrect, it’s a technical issue, and of course we apologise.
Source: @theroyalfamily on Instagram
Radio Caroline told Ofcom that the staff member responsible had been reprimanded and had apologised.
To prevent a repeat of the mistake, the station also removed the files from the studio computer’s desktop and stored them on an external drive for access only when needed.
Presenters and support staff were also reminded of the relevant procedures.
Ofcom received two complaints about the incident, which Radio Caroline argued suggested that minimal distress or offence had been caused.
Nonetheless, Ofcom considered the false report a “very significant inaccuracy”. The regulator also found that taking 30 minutes to apologise was too long given the significance of the error.
It therefore found Radio Caroline in breach of two rules in the Ofcom Broadcasting Code.
King Charles III’s rough day in the media did not end there.
On 12 Aug, baffled Threads users noticed the King’s photo in the preview of a People Magazine article about an alligator killing a dog.
Source: Relevant-Peach3997 on Reddit
This appeared to be the result of a bug, with the preview seemingly continuing to update.
It later showed attempted Ronald Reagan assassin John Hinckley Jr and actress Jodie Foster, and has since changed again to feature Michael Jackson and his daughter.
Also read: TTSH says story of deceased healthcare worker posted by opposition party chief is inaccurate
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Featured image adapted from @theroyalfamily on Instagram.