Tightens regulations after leak
BBC Administrators review and tighten regulations on staff tweeting stories about sensitive news after a rogue tweet causing news organizations to wrongly report Queen Elizabeth II is dead or in the hospital. Updated guidelines for “category one” public figures including the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Charles and the Duke of Cambridge state:
It is essential that those responsible for the coverage in the hour or so immediately after the announcement of death, especially of the Monarch and, assuming the death is a natural one, understand that this is NOT a “breaking story” in the normally accepted sense. If the death was sudden and/or unexpected, the circumstances of the death, as a news story, might well take precedence, at least in the initial coverage. However, it would be expected that the tone would become more reflective as the coverage unfolds.