The UK Defence Journal, in its satirical piece about the Royal Navy’s new aircraft carrier ‘HMS Prince Andrew’, made unrealistic claims on April Fool’s Day. Russian state media, Russia Today, reported on it, claiming it to be a real report regarding the UK’s plan to expand its navy.
The Russian state media, Russia Today, claimed in its report that Britain was buying a trillion-pound super aircraft carrier, which will be equipped with “infinity jets” and crayons, The Sun reports. The spoof was originally published by the UK Defence Journal, and it claimed that the UK would expand its Royal Navy by inducting HMS Prince Andrew, a new Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier. The satirical article added that HMS Prince Andrew will be painted with “go-faster stripes to improve speed and morale”.
It went on to add that the super aircraft carrier will be carrying “infinity-hundred” aircraft and Trident nuclear missiles for “deterrence purposes”. Notably, the satire was replete with hints that it was fake, including the author’s name, Avril Fuller, which is simply a twist on April Fool.
The report mocked the delays, operational issues, and costs involved in building HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Queen Elizabeth, as it added that the third ship would cost just a “modest £987.6 billion”.
The report further poked fun as it said that the unlimited aircraft on the vessel would offer “theoretical edge over any known carrier fleet in existence, real or imagined.” It also mentioned “naval typhoons”, which actually don’t exist.
Russia Today, in its report headlined “Britain to Expand Navy Due to ‘Russian Threat,” took lines from the April Fool’s Day article and presented them as real analysis. It even quoted a senior analyst at the DMCS think tank, who called the UK’s decision to expand the naval fleet ‘a waste of money and human lives’.
Later, the UK Defence Journal ridiculed Russia Today for its “poor editorial standards” and described the incident as a “worrying lapse in basic journalistic scrutiny”.