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