Paid ‘edited photo’ posted by the Princess of Wales. Kate Middleton led a number of media outlets to report that it was fake and withdrawn, in addition to the spread of many speculations regarding her health, especially since it was her first photo after undergoing surgery.
The British Princess apologized for the photo she published, in which she appeared with her three children, on Sunday, on the occasion of Mother’s Day in the United Kingdom, confirming that she had made the amendments herself.
She said crossly XMonday: “Like many amateur photographers, I sometimes experiment with editing. I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion caused by the family photo we shared yesterday. I hope everyone celebrating Mother’s Day is very happy.”
The photo published by Kensington Palace sparked conspiracy theories that undermined efforts to reassure the public about Princess Kate’s health, and some even came to doubt that the Princess of Wales was still alive, according to Agence France-Presse.
And described “Financial TimesThe “Kategate” scandal, named after “Watergate”, in which bribes to foreign officials were revealed by large American companies, such as the defense group Lockheed Martin and the oil company “Mobil Oil”, and the US president at the time, Richard Nixon, preferred to resign in 1974. To avoid being impeached by Congress.
Public interest in Middleton’s whereabouts has increased since Kensington Palace announced, in January, that she had been hospitalized for a planned abdominal surgery and that she would postpone all of her upcoming engagements until she recovered, indicating that the matter could take months. Prior to the announcement, the Princess of Wales had not been seen or heard from since Christmas Day.
Following the surgery, Kate reportedly returned to her home in Windsor on January 29 to continue her recovery. As public speculation about her health and whereabouts continues to grow, on Sunday, March 10, Kensington Palace published a photo of Kate and her three children to celebrate Mother’s Day in the United Kingdom.
The palace said the photo was taken by Prince William, Kate’s husband. Almost immediately, “eagle-eyed royal observers noticed a number of strange inconsistencies in the photo that suggested it had been edited or significantly altered,” Forbes reported.
Conspiracy theories… from bad to worse
This catastrophic communication failure led to a torrent of theories about the wife of the heir to the British throne, collected online under the name “Katespiracy,” a term that combines the words “Kate” and “Conspiracy.”
These rumours, fueled by the princess’s absence from public appearances since Christmas and her undergoing abdominal surgery in January, began long before the photo was published.
Some believe that Kate is recovering from an eating disorder or plastic surgery. Others see her absence as a sign that her marriage to Prince William is faltering.
Finally, others wonder if Kate is still alive.
The princess’s admission of her responsibility for the manipulation, without publishing the original photo, or explaining the reasons for her action, strengthened doubts among Internet users, according to what Agence France-Presse reported.
Details, rumors and fabrications
“The moral of the story of the edited royal photo is simple: everything must be said,” says The Guardian writer Simon Jenkins, adding, “At this stage, protecting privacy is of no use, but rather fuels rumours, gossip and slander.”
Due to the lack of transparent information about Kate, many Internet users are playing a guessing game, wondering what the palace could be hiding, according to Agence France-Presse.
“Every family has a secret,” the phrase was attached to a photo that was widely circulated on the X network to promote a fake documentary on Netflix entitled “The Royal Conspiracy: The Disappearance of Kate Middleton.”
The director of global news for Agence France-Presse, one of the world’s largest news agencies, told the BBC that Kensington Palace was no longer a “reliable source” after the edited photo was published, and said that AFP’s decision to “kill” the Middleton photo was a rare dramatic move that is usually reserved. For North Korean or Iranian propaganda, according to Forbes.
Agence France-Presse said statement On its website after the photo was withdrawn, it said: “Photo editors at the AFP London office were alerted on Sunday that there had been modifications to a photo published by Kensington Palace of the Princess of Wales and her children.”
She noted, “After discussions, Agence France-Presse and a group of international news agencies considered that these amendments violated the ethical standards of the profession. As a result, they collectively agreed to remove the image from their distribution platforms.”
“From the beginning, AFP duly indicated that it was distributing an image provided by a third-party organization. AFP felt compelled to remove the image in order to preserve the trust of its subscribers and maintain transparency to the public, especially in a society where photos that have been circulated are widespread,” she added. “Manipulate it.”