Radio France Internationale Apologises After Publishing Obituaries of celebrities Still Alive

Radio France Internationale has apologised after publishing obituaries of celebrities still alive, including Queen Elizabeth II and football legend Pele.

The French Broadcaster in a statement said that a technical problem led to the publication.

“We offer our apologies to the people concerned and to you who follow and trust us,” RFI added.

As a common practice, broadcasters and media outlets often prepare obituary material in advance that can be published immediately when a death is announced.

At RFI a problem occurred when it was moving its website to a different content management system, according to its statement.

Reportedly, around a hundred drafted stories were published in error, not just to RFI’s own site but to partner sites as well, including Google and Yahoo.

None of them are currently dead on the list that went live prematurely on the website of Radio France Internationale included Clint Eastwood, Brigitte Bardot, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, former US President Jimmy Carter, and Cuba’s Raul Castro.

RFI further added that it is mobilising to rectify this major bug.