One of Britain's major online news organisations has been fooled by a fake black British peer, who came out to support Meghan Markle.
With only a Twitter page and some cheek, a woman describing herself as the 11th Marquess of Annaville was allowed to write for the Independent.
Her opinion appeared to be noteworthy and offered a view not often heard. The Independent went with the headline: "I'm a black British member of the aristocracy – I know what Meghan said was true".
Since Meghan Markle and Harry's Oprah interview the British media has been hungry for views and stories about life inside royal circles and the problems the couple faced.
Organisations have found Harry and Meghan to be very 'clickable' and are keen to give readers more.
Unfortunately, the 11th Marquess appears to be more front and less noble, with a distinct lack of history.
Quite something to be the ‘11th Marquess of Annaville’ when there has never been a first, and there is in fact no such peerage. The Indy have been stung here. https://t.co/wYOu5yQZR8
— Elvis Buñuelo (@Mr_Considerate) March 13, 2021
And there were clues that the Marquess may be less-than-marque.
Commentators soon started questioning the writer's true position, especially as there is no record of the 11th Marquess of Annaville in publications like London Gazette, Burkes and the Roll of the Peerages.
The Independent has now dropped the her opinion and the url points only to its Opinion homepage.
The not-so-Marquess wrote: "As a member of that same aristocracy, I'm telling you that I unequivocally believe that they are telling the truth" and claims racism is "prevalent in such circles."
In an eminently-readable but ultimately un-true article she claimed racism among Britain's peerage system, which did not easily accept people of colour.
There may be a lesson for the country's media about when something appears too good to be true.
