Kate Middleton photoshopped an image of her and her 3 children for Mother's Day.

Question

The TikToker claims that the image was actually taken in November, 2023, and was heavily photoshopped for a Mother's Day post.

Answer 1

This claim is true. It was revealed based off metadata that the photo was altered in two separate photoshop sessions. The "reach" here is that perhaps something happened to Kate after her abdominal surgery, so this image was completely conjured to shut down the rumors. What really happened was Kate edited the image as many people do nowadays, to increase colors or saturation or to make the photo and herself and her kids look as good as possible.

https://www.vanityfair.com/style/kate-middleton-prince-william-photoshop-fallout#:~:text=%E2%80%9CIf%20you%20want%20to%20call,March%208%20and%20March%209.

https://www.wired.com/story/kate-middleton-photoshop-mistakes/

Comments

Great use of sources. In my research I also looked at the Vanity Fair article and found the claim to be true. To improve the coverage on your fact check I suggest including a quote from one of the articles so readers can get a sense of what the articles are discussing.

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Really strong claims and strong sources. I liked how you included that Kate had surgery and that the photo was used to shut down the rumors. May next time include a quote.

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Great factcheck, I think that you did a really good job of including your sources, and making it easy for readers to come to an understanding of the topic.

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I agree with your claim and I think you did a great job incorporating the sources you used to help your claim.

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I think this is a good check. There are so many rumors surrounding the photoshopped image. Do you believe Kate was the one to edit it? Do you know why the royal family would post such a clearly photoshopped image?

Answer 2

This claim is at least partially true. The Princess tweeted that she in fact photoshopped the photo. I am not sure about when the photo was taken though. 

Source: https://twitter.com/KensingtonRoyal/status/1767135566645092616

Comments

I liked that you went to a different social media platform to get more information on this claim. And it's great that you referenced what Kate Middleton said because she is a primary source. To improve the coverage on your fact check I would suggest looking at some of the news articles published on the claim because they discuss how they found out the image is photoshopped and when it was taken.

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I think you have a good start to your fact-check but I would suggest looking at more than one source, or to trace the sources from the one you listed. It could possibly give you more information to go off of, or other facts about the story to check.

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Next time, I would include more detail about why you think the claim is partially true. I'm also not sure what the "when the photo was taken" has to do with the validity of the claim. I do like that you included the primary source in fact check though.

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I saw something similar to this on a tiktok. Kate Middleton alleged that she was experimenting with AI. There are now conspiracy videos saying that this is an effort to cover up there most recent scandal.

Answer 3

This claim is true. 

The TikTok user who posted this claim, Allyn Aston, is a self-titled "pop culture enthusiast" who makes videos about breaking celebrity headlines and often includes her own opinion. The reasoning she gives as to why she believes the image of Kate Middleton is photoshopped is because The Associated Press issued a kill report. 

In this article, the global news organization explains that it removed the image from their site because it was manipulated. In a statement to ABC News, The Associated Press said, "At closer inspection, it appears that the source had manipulated the image in a way that did not meet AP's photo standards. The photo shows an inconsistency in the alignment of Princess Charlotte's left hand." 

The ABC News articles reveals that according to the metadata on the file, the image was processed through Adobe Photoshop twice. 

My research shows that this claim is true. The image was photoshopped. However, the original TikTok video claims the image was taken from a separate event that Middleton and her children attended in November. Aston compares the similar clothing the family wore at the event with the clothing in the photoshopped image. I didn't find reliable news sources discussing the origin of the image, so I can't conclude if Aston is correct. 

Answer 4

This claim is true. Many believe this may be related to health issues since she has been missing from the public eye. According to CNN, this has opened up a wide range of conspiracy theories surrounding the royal family. The princess herself acknowledged the claim and tweeted out that the photo was manipulated.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/12/opinions/catherine-princess-of-wales-apology-photograph-prince/index.html

Comments

Nice fact check! I do wish you had included the link to the tweet you mentioned though.

Answer 5

The claim is true. Multiple reliable sources such as the New York Times, TODAY.com, and NPR reported on the image. They all confirmed the image of her and her children was photoshopped and that she was the one who edited the photo. Kate Middleton herself confirmed she edited the photo, releasing a statement on Twitter saying, "Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing. I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused."

https://twitter.com/KensingtonRoyal/status/1767135566645092616

https://www.npr.org/2024/03/11/1237413938/kate-middleton-photo-edited

https://www.today.com/popculture/kate-middleton-photo-editing-controversy-rcna142849

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/11/world/europe/princess-kate-middleton-photo-edit-apology.html

Answer 6

This claim is true. After speculation about Middleton's whereabouts after having not being seen after Christmas Day (December 25, 2023). Additionally, on January 17, Kensington Palace announced that Middleton was having abdominal surgery and "based on current medical advice," it was an "unlikely return to public duties until after Easter." On March 10, in honor of Mother's Day in the United Kingdom, Kensington Palace shared a photo of Middleton and her children, to which the Palace says was taken by her husband earlier in the week. However, people were quick to find alterations in the photo and come to the conclusion that the photo was manipulated. The photo on Instagram, even has a warning before viewing the photo, "the same altered photo was reviewed by independent fact-checkers in another post." Some examples of alterations are Middleton's hair appearing to be airbrushed, Princess Charlotte's hair is partially cut off, and the step behind Prince Louis appearing to be meshed into the floor. The next day, March 11, Middleton released a statement through Kensington Palace saying, "Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing. I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused.”