Confusion about whether the president of Zambia is dead or alive descended into a dark farce today, exposing serious questions about the reliability of sources in the world of breaking news.
President Levy Mwanawasa's death was first reported on South Africa's Talk Radio 702 this morning after he suffered a stroke before the African Union summit earlier this week. It quoted a spokesman for the Zambian High Commission.
The report was given credence by the South African president, Thabo Mbeki, who announced Mwanawasa's death at a public ceremony in Pretoria.
But it appeared that reports of Mwanawasa's death were grossly exaggerated. Like many news organisations we had to rewrite our first Zambia story today.
Mbeki hastily retracted his statement after Zambia's vice president Rupiah Banda announced that Mwanawasa was not dead after all.
Then the Zambian Times declared that Mwanawasa was dead again in a story sourced to the AFP and the South African Press Association.
But at the time of writing most news outlets were reporting that Mwanawasa was still in intensive care in a Paris hospital. If that is the case, get well soon.
