CBS News was forced to issue an embarrassing correction on Wednesday following an errant social media post about the United Kingdom’s monarch King Charles III.
The original X post mistakenly referred to the current ruler as King Charles II.
Charles II lived – and died – more than 300 years ago, paving the way for a pronounced response from readers confused as to how a 17th-century leader was willing to answer questions about the former Prince Andrew’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
The post, meanwhile, remained up for hours, leaving plenty of time for people to express amusement.
A correction was posted to X more than a day later, only after the deluge of ridicule.
‘Charles II? The king who brought back partying?’ one onlooker quipped, referencing a viral Horrible Histories parody song that featured a rapping Charles II in 2010 and poked fun at the king’s penchant for partying.
‘The BBC’s official US broadcast partner is now doing journalism by ouija board (Charles II died in 1685),’ added UK commentator Rupert Myers.
Someone else set out to offer the last-place legacy network a simplified history lesson.
Charles III – not to be confused with his namesakes – at his coronation in May 2023
Charles II lived and died more than 300 years ago, with a reign defined by political conflict and partying
The post that confused the two stayed up for hours, paving the way for a wave of ridicule
‘You know how Home Alone & Home Alone 2 were both amazing and had the same basic cast, then a few years later they made Home Alone 3 with NONE of the same people and it was a totally different movie? That’s Charles I & II and then Charles III.’
Charles II was born in 1630 and succeeded his executed father, Charles I, in 1660, following years of in-fighting that led to his exile to France and the rise of Parliamentarian army commander Oliver Cromwell as Lord Protector.
The 25-year reign that followed was dominated by political and religious conflicts and events like the Great Plague and the Great Fire of London.
Charles II died aged 54 following a sudden apoplectic fit in 1685, without a legitimate heir.
‘Didn’t expect our late king, Charles II, to have an opinion on the Epstein scandal – but fair play to him for getting in touch and to CBS News for securing the interview,’ one commenter wrote as a result.
The post – penned at around 6am Wednesday – reshared the then-yet-to-be deleted post.
‘Did anyone get a screenshot of the King Charles II tweet from CBS?’ someone else wrote around 9:30am, shortly after the post was deleted.
‘A previous version of this post erroneously referred to King Charles II. It has been corrected and the original post deleted,’ an accompanying correction read.
Pictured, the posts followed, before the post was eventually deleted Wednesday morning – more than 24 hours later
The Daily Mail has contacted CBS News for comment.
The network has been under a microscope as of late following a series of missteps under new editor-in-chief Bari Weiss.
The former opinion journalist took the reigns at CBS back in October at the behest of Paramount boss David Ellison, who rose to the position after the company’s merger with Skydance in August.
Weiss founded the Free Press, but has no experience leading a major news organization.
Matt Gutman – a longtime but little-known former ABC journalist who previously worked at the Jerusalem Post – was Weiss’s first hire as editor-in-chief. He is now the network’s chief reporter.
Executives at ABC let the longtime correspondent go without a fight, a well-placed source told the Daily Mail last month. Others said the move showed Weiss’s inexperience.
The rocky start continued with Weiss’s highly publicized town hall with Erika Kirk last month, which proved to be a ratings flop.