Media outlets pull ‘manipulated’ photos of Kate Middleton. Why?

Fascination with the British royal family is nothing new. Globally, the country’s monarchy falls somewhere between cultural and political obsession, representing the face of Britain and its imperialism while also fitting the mold of twenty-first-century celebrity-centric tabloid journalism.

There’s no better example of this than the current PR disaster surrounding Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales, a certain photoshopped photo and the supposed “disappearance” of people’s feeds.

On Sunday, as Britain celebrated Mother’s Day, Kensington Palace – the royal family’s official residence and brand’s social media account – unveiled new portraits of Kate and her three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.The photo is thought to have been taken by her husband Prince William and was posted on Instagram and Twitter/Xtitled “Thank you for your kind wishes and continued support over the past two months. Happy Mother’s Day to everyone.”

More than just a family photo, it’s the first publicly released photo of Kate since undergoing scheduled abdominal surgery in January, with her last public appearance being more than two months ago on Christmas Day.

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Questions began to arise almost immediately, first from social media users who had spent months wildly speculating about the circumstances of Kate’s disappearance from public view, but then media outlets announced that the photo showed signs of “manipulation.”From now on, princess Posted on X Apologizing for the “confusion” the photo caused, the original photo posted by @KensingtonPalace on The photo was removed from the website.” reported. ”

This community description is now under the X post at @KensingtonPalace.
Image Credit: Screenshot: Mashable/X

Why are media outlets pulling photos of Kate Middleton and her children?

On Sunday, five major media organizations removed photos of the princess and her children: Associated Press (AP), PA, Getty Images, Reuters and Agence France-Presse (AFP). All five agencies issued “kill notices” via email and on their image websites, which essentially means they reminded clients to immediately remove the photo from all platforms and stop distributing it entirely.

“Upon closer inspection, the source appears to have doctored the image. Customers are advised that the following story has been removed and should no longer be used,” AP wrote in the alert. Likewise, AFP cited “editorial issues.” , and asked the customer not to use the image “in any way.”

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The reason for pulling the photo to be more specific is in the details. First of all, the Photoshop work that Princess confirmed on X was done by herself, messy: The area around Princess Charlotte’s sleeves shows signs of manipulation (and is noticeably blurry); both Kate and Charlotte’s hair looks natural and vaguely cropped. Other details, such as the little prince’s hands, look similarly modified.

News organizations have strict guidelines for handling images, including the Associated Press, which emphasizes in its Statement of Values ​​and Principles: “The content of a photo may not be altered in Photoshop or any other means. No elements may be added or removed digitally. photo.”

Several media outlets, including the BBC and The New York Times, have since removed the photo from their original graphic coverage.

How did the palace respond?

The image sparked a flurry of speculation after it was released, which was later debunked. But Monday morning, The princess herself released a statement on Twitter/Xapologized for the “chaos” surrounding the photo and admitted to using editing software: “Like many amateur photographers, I occasionally try my hand at editing. I would like to apologize for any confusion caused by the family photo we shared yesterday,” The statement read, signed C (Catherine, Kate’s full name).

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Buckingham Palace has been under pressure over the past 24 hours to acknowledge the doctored image and explain what happened. As of this writing, no other royals have commented, including the official @RoyalFamily account. The fact that the photo was edited has raised questions about Kate’s health and condition, although many are in line with tabloid-style rumors that have circulated since the princess’ surgery. But the very purpose of quelling such rumors actually gets them further into trouble, so it’s no surprise that a statement was necessary.

What does it mean?

It now appears that Kate Middleton’s family portrait was nothing more than an error in editorial judgment, at least according to Buckingham Palace. But if the Internet has anything to do with it, the story continues. Even before the ill-advised photo was released, royal reporters had plenty to say.

The British media has a uniquely unhealthy relationship with the royal family, and rumors circulating in newspapers have been widely addressed by Kensington Palace itself. In late February, a Kensington Palace spokesperson responded to the speculation to multiple media outlets, refuting the “crazy conspiracy theory”: “We have been very clear from the beginning that the Princess of Wales will not be out until after Easter. , Kensington Palace will only provide the latest news when something is important.”

However, as journalist and former Buzzfeed News royal correspondent Ellie Hall points out, Buckingham Palace’s direct acknowledgment of these conspiracies is itself rare. It appears the situation is unprecedented and people will only have more questions – at least until after Easter, when the princess will resume her royal duties.