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News Outlets Retract Elfriede Jelinek Death Report After Fake Rowohlt Account on X

The mistaken obituary spread across German and Austrian media has prompted calls for stricter verification processes

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Die österreichische Autorin und Dramatikerin Elfriede Jelinek, in ihrem Haus in Wien.
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Overview

  • On June 17 a counterfeit X account posing as Rowohlt Verlag falsely announced the death of Nobel laureate Elfriede Jelinek
  • Major outlets including Focus Online, Berliner Zeitung and Der Standard published the false report before confirming its authenticity
  • A swift inquiry at Rowohlt Verlag’s Hamburg offices verified that Jelinek, 78, is alive
  • Italian hoaxer Tommaso Debenedetti, notorious for similar death hoaxes, was revealed as the source of the fake account
  • The episode has renewed concerns over media reliability and underscored the urgent need for verification in digital reporting