Kate Middleton Photo Scandal: New Image of Princess Raises More Questions

Kate Middleton Photo Scandal: Controversy Surrounds Edited Images

Ready for the latest news in the Kate Middleton photo scandal? That news story, in which England’s royal family had to admit that the Princess of Wales had edited a photo of her family sent to news agencies, is still churning. Only now, a different photo of the princess is coming under fire.

Another Photo under Scrutiny

The photo agency that provided a picture of the Prince and Princess of Wales together in a Range Rover on Monday, the same day the princess apologized for her editing, is speaking out about its own photo.

In a statement, Goff Photos said it didn’t change its photo beyond the most basic updates.

“[The] images of the Prince and Princess of Wales in the back of the Range Rover have been cropped and lightened,” but “nothing has been doctored,” the statement said, according to Today.com. Goff Photos didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The photo of William and Kate in the Range Rover is hard to see, and online detectives didn’t find as many things wrong with it as they did with the family photo. But there was still enough fuss about it – with some questioning the brick wall shown, and others claiming Kate’s hair was edited in from an older photo – that Goff Photos felt it had to make a statement.

NBC News also reported that it found no evidence that the picture had been digitally altered.

It’s a reminder that we’re in a brave new world of edited images now. Even prominent figures are comfortable attempting to pass modified photographs off as authentic. It’s never clear how much editing has been done to a published image, and people can’t be blamed for being suspicious of such photos.

How did we get here?

Kate’s Surgery Sparks Rumors

Kate Middleton, Prince William’s wife and England’s future queen, underwent abdominal surgery in January. The original statement issued about her condition said she wouldn’t be seen until after Easter, although one paparazzi photo of the princess and her mother was released last week.

Despite the palace’s original statement, rumors about Middleton’s whereabouts reached a fever pitch on social media. Was she seriously ill? Dead? Had she separated from Prince William? There was zero evidence for any of those theories, but give the Internet zero news, and people will make things up.

Controversy over the Edited Family Photo

The buzz kicked into high gear on March 10, when a seemingly everyday family image of Kate and her children was sent to news agencies to mark the UK’s Mother’s Day. But then those groups sent out a rare notice requesting that their clients no longer use the photo, saying it had been manipulated.

Within hours, the royal family admitted the photo indeed had been changed — and the princess herself took the blame.

“Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing,” she said in a rare apology. British tabloid The Daily Mail reported that palace representatives refused to release the original photograph. Kensington Palace did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Controversy Deepens with the Range Rover Photo

While the Internet was still buzzing about the edited photo, Goff Photos released its own picture, that image of a Range Rover with two difficult-to-see passengers, who appear to be Prince William and Kate.

Palace representatives probably would have liked for that photo to have ended people’s concerns about whether Kate is alive and well. But with suspicions already high and the photo itself hard to make out, that wasn’t going to happen, and a whole new world of conspiracy theories was born.

Real or Manipulated? How to Tell If a Photo Is Edited

Image manipulation isn’t new. Russia’s Joseph Stalin famously removed political enemies from photos nearly a century ago. Since then, manipulated images have become so commonplace in some parts of society that some celebrities have begun publicly criticizing the practice.

Though it’s increasingly hard to identify a manipulated photo, there are some telltale signs. Some of the giveaways that the royal image was manipulated included oddly faded strands of hair, weirdly changing lines on their clothing, and a zipper that appeared to change color and appearance.

Companies like Samsung and Adobe are working on tools to identify manipulated and authentic images. Samsung’s Galaxy S24, for example, adds metadata and a watermark to identify photos manipulated with AI. Other startups are also attempting to develop ways to identify authentic and manipulated images, while Adobe and other companies have created new ways to confirm an image’s authenticity.

The use of AI in image editing is rapidly evolving, and with advancements in the field, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish between real and manipulated images.

More Editing, More AI: Editing Photos on Your Phone

AI-powered editing tools, including those added to Photoshop, are revolutionizing the photo editing process. These tools, such as generative fill, allow for the expansion of images beyond their borders, providing new possibilities for photo editing potential.

AI tools are also being trained to help people effectively edit photos, enabling users to enhance specific parts of images and create fun stickers to share with friends.

Mobile phone cameras also incorporate features like High Dynamic Range (HDR), which combine multiple images of varying exposure to capture high-contrast scenes. Furthermore, Google’s Magic Eraser photo tool allows users to remove unwanted people or objects from their pictures.

The integration of AI into photo editing has made editing more accessible and efficient, but it also raises questions about the authenticity and credibility of images.

The Changing Landscape of AI in Images

While AI can enhance the visual quality of photos, it also poses challenges in the realm of politics and misinformation. AI tools are capable of creating hyper-realistic videos and images that can mislead and deceive viewers.

Given the potential for misuse, there are calls to regulate AI-generated content. President Joe Biden has urged Congress to ban voice impersonation using AI, following incidents involving the creation of fake AI-generated recordings of his voice.

As images and videos continue to be subject to manipulation, it is crucial to question the authenticity and credibility of the visual content we encounter online.

The Future of AI in Images

The Kate Middleton photo scandal and subsequent editing controversy shed light on the evolving role of AI in image editing. As the technology continues to advance, distinguishing between real and manipulated images will become an even greater challenge.

While AI holds incredible potential to revolutionize the way we edit photos, it is crucial to approach it with caution. As debates around the authenticity of AI-generated content continue, efforts are being made to develop tools that can establish the credibility and authenticity of images.