The first official photo of Princess Kate following her abdominal surgery has again plunged Buckingham Palace into controversy, amid speculation the image was "manipulated" using artificial intelligence.
An AI expert told 1News the image had likely been subjected to "some tweaking" or "just tidying things up".
The photograph of the Princess of Wales flanked by her three children – Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis, and purportedly taken by her husband, Prince William – sparked an online frenzy today after global press agencies issued a notice for the image to be immediately taken down.
The image, released on Mother's Day in the UK, was designed to quell rumours about the 42-year-old royal's health after she underwent the planned surgery – but has instead led to further scrutiny.
Visual red flags prompted some of the world's largest news agencies to swiftly remove the image from their platforms.
The Associated Press issued a "kill notice" for the image, writing, "At closer inspection it appears that the source has manipulated the image".
In the photograph, the princess appears to be missing her wedding ring; Prince Louis' hand appears to be disfigured, with the top of his index finger missing; and a backdrop of lush greenery uncharacteristic of British winters.
Other oddities include Princess Charlotte's left hand not lining up with her cardigan, and a section of tiles appearing to be blurred.
AI commentator Paul Duignan said there was "likely to be some tweaking, or some algorithm within Photoshop or something just tidying things up".
He said it would only add to a "trustability crisis" in the age of modern technology.
"We've just got a whole lot of deepfakes happening. They're starting to happen and so people are very conscious and aware of this at the moment," Duignan said.
Kensington Palace, the source of the image, today declined to comment.
Duignan said it "raises the concern of any kind of information being fake".
"There's not a lot of motivation other than to make the princess look a little bit healthy."
Kate's exact condition has not been made public, leading to rampant speculation.
But former royal commentator Jenie Bond said she didn't believe Kensington Palace "should have been put in a position where they really had to put out information that Catherine didn't want put out".
In January, it was announced that Kate would be undergoing abdominal surgery, before taking time off from royal duties until after Easter while she recovered.
Prince William has continued with public engagements on his own. However, his decision to pull out of a memorial service for the late King Constantine of Greece due to personal reasons only fed the rumour mill further.
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