The military drill that sparked WhatsApp rumours of Queen’s death
Message sent by ‘Gibbo’ created fake news panic after being forwarded to millions
It was the WhatsApp message that convinced millions of people the Queen had died. Now, the mystery of how a man called Gibbo and his friends inadvertently created a fake news panic that went “bigger than Ben Hur” has apparently been solved – and the finger of blame is pointing at a military drill near Yeovil.
On Sunday night, millions of Britons received messages suggesting the monarch had passed away, often forwarded on WhatsApp, Facebook and Twitter, prompting Google searches for the Queen to spike and forcing Buckingham Palace to insist the 93-year-old was very much still alive.