Alexievich: I’m alive in Seul, it was a bad joke

Screenshot from Twitter, French Minister of Culture
Screenshot from Twitter, French Minister of Culture

Russian mass media referring to the Twitter account of the French Minister of Culture are reporting the death of Belarusian writer Svetlana Alexievich.

 

Russian mass media immediately started distributing the information and did not pay attention to the fact that the Twitter account was created in May 2017 and contained only 5 tweets.   

Алексіевіч: Я жывая, знаходжуся ў Сеуле ― нехта там няўдала пажартаваў
Screenshot: ria.ru

Euroradio phoned the writer who is in Seul now.

 

“I am alive. I am in Seul at the moment. It is probably somebody’s bad joke,” Svetlana Alexievich commented on the news.

 

The message “This account is hoax created by Italian journalist Tommasso Debenedetti” appeared on that Twitter account a few minutes later.

Audio: Alexievich’s first reaction to the news about her death.