The UK’s corporate media has been caught publishing fake images of Prince William that appear to be generated by artificial intelligence (AI).
The move comes amid mounting speculation regarding William’s wife Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales.
On Tuesday, the future King reportedly visited Sheffield in the north of England to meet locals working in – and impacted by – homelessness.
However, eagle-eyed social media users noticed that one of the images has a defect that suggested it had been AI-generated.
New photos of Prince William.
Is something strange is going on with his hands? pic.twitter.com/gliZ7UY3eF
— Shadow of Ezra (@ShadowofEzra) March 20, 2024
The image was published by major media outlets who claimed it was a photo taken during William’s visit.
The image was published by The Sun and can be viewed here – archived here.
The Sun credits “Andrew Parsons / Kensington Palace” for the image.
Kensington Palace has yet to comment on the image.
The news comes amid growing concerns about the Princess of Wales, who has not been seen publically since Christmas.
Earlier this week, the media attempted to quell rumors about Kate’s apparent disappearance by publishing a video of a “sighting” of the princess.
The media claimed the video was of Prince William and Kate during a trip to a local farm store.
However, social media users were quick to point out that the woman in the video wasn’t Kate and appeared to be a lookalike.
On Monday, TMZ and The Sun posted alleged videos and photos of the Princess of Wales’s visit.
On Sunday, The Sun cited witnesses to report that Middleton and Prince William were spotted supporting their children in a sports event near their Windsor residence.
Visuals were not published in the report.
However, TMZ on Monday posted images on Monday, claiming they were from her visit to the Windsor Farm Shop.
The Sun report added that Middleton looked “happy, relaxed and healthy” in the store.
TMZ quoted an eyewitness as saying: “I noticed a couple choosing loaves of bread and the woman turned her face and I felt like I had seen the face before.
“It was familiar. I knew it from somewhere.”
“I went to my car and as they came out of the shop I just filmed them,” he added, according to the report.
“I think they walked out through a gate out of the grounds.
“They just vanished and I didn’t see a car.
“I just wanted to share with my family footage and show just how normal they were.”
Following the initial report, many cast doubt as to why nobody took photos of the royal couple during their visit to the store.
Shortly after, the video emerged that cast further doubt on the claims.
Social media users were quick to point out that the woman in the videos was not Kate Middleton.
WATCH:
🚨NEWS ALERT: Rumors are circulating that Kate Middleton has been replaced by a clone or body double after she was just spotted in public with Prince William ⚠️ pic.twitter.com/CredK9ziK5
— Matt Wallace (@MattWallace888) March 18, 2024
“TMZ who published the first faked picture of Kate in the car with Carole Middleton just released this video of Kate and William, only the woman is Not Kate,” one person said on X.
“I might have to tap out of this whole Kate Middleton thing because I genuinely, hand on heart, do not think these pics look like the same woman & it’s making me feel like I’m losing my mind,” another one added.
“Like, I’m not trying to be a conspiracy theorist, but that is not her??”
Middleton is expected to address the rumors about her health and absence in an event soon, several reports say.
Middleton has been missing from the public eye since her mysterious “abdominal surgery” in January.
She last attended an event in December last year.
The 42-year-old’s absence and health have been the subject of mounting concerns and speculation.
To celebrate the UK’s Mother’s Day earlier this month, Kensington Palace published an image of Kate with her children.
However, a “kill order” was issued to media outlets shortly after due to the image being manipulated.
It emerged that the photo had been doctored at the source.
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