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A new wave of speculation surrounds Kate Middleton as her Mother's Day photo, uploaded to X on May 10, was tagged by Community Notes as "believed to be digitally altered."
The shroud of mystery recently surrounding Kate Middleton and the disturbing lack of details provided by Kensington Palace after her abdominal surgery has caused a sea of conspiracy theories to pop up on social media. The new Mother's Day photo has added to the mystery, with netizens expressing their concern for the Princess of Wales. One user even noted that the development looked "bad."
"This is bad, y’all"
Netizens react to X attaching Community Notes to Kate Middleton's new photo
The question "Where is Kate?" has been making the rounds on social media since the princess' abdominal surgery on January 16. No pictures of Kate Middleton entering or leaving the London Clinic, where she reportedly had her surgery, ever saw the light of day, leading to several people expressing their concerns about her.
The added allegations of a Spanish journalist claiming that Kate Middleton was in an induced coma after her surgery set off a chain reaction, as more conspiracy theories, ranging from bizarre to concerning, tacked on to the list. From Brazilian Butt Lifts to Pippa Middleton being photoshopped to look like her sister in a recent TMZ photo of the princess, the theories were endless.
The latest Mother's Day photo added fuel to the fire. At first, the picture seemed innocuous, with Kate Middleton seated in the middle, surrounded by her children, Princess Charlotte, Prince George, and Prince Louis. The photo, which was allegedly taken earlier in the week at Windsor by Prince William, was captioned:
"Thank you for your kind wishes and continued support over the last two months. Wishing everyone a Happy Mother's Day. C"
However, several agencies reported that the photo was digitally altered in a few aspects, thereby causing more speculation on social media. The final nail in the coffin was X adding a Community Note to the photo that said:
"Photo agencies, including AP and AFP, have removed this photo from distribution upon suspicion that it is manipulated of otherwise digitally altered."
This caused quite a stir on social media, and netizens spammed X with their reactions.
Several agencies withdrew Kate Middleton's Mother's Day photo, citing it was "altered"
According to People Magazine, several major news agencies have removed Kate Middleton's Mother's Day photo from their reports, including the Associated Press (AP), Reuters, AFP, and Getty.
AP issued a "kill notification" for the photo, urging journalists to avoid using the image, as upon “closer inspection it appears that the source has manipulated the image. No replacement photo will be sent.” An AP spokesperson released a statement to The Telegraph, saying:
"The photo shows an inconsistency in the alignment of Princess Charlotte’s left hand."
Reuters also pointed out inconsistencies in Princess Charlotte's sleeves, suggesting the photo may have been altered or manipulated. According to CNN, AFP claimed to have retracted the photo due to "an editorial issue."
Most photo agencies forbid the use of doctored photos, citing that such images could affect their credibility. They often use special software to detect the use of Photoshop or AI in images for verification purposes.
