Regardless, Kate still needs privacy like everyone else.

Since a few years ago, many social network users in the US “fell into the trap” of widely spread conspiracies of the QAnon group. That concept also refers to those who specialize in misleading netizens with unverified information. It is believed that Q is a high-ranking figure in the intelligence community, trusted to access classified documents at Q level, which is a very high level. Q hid his identity, so from there came the concept of QAnon (Q and Anonymous – anonymous).

Many people have fallen into the trap of untrue conspiracy theories, especially during the US presidential election campaign.

In recent days, the concept of QAnon has continued to be mentioned again, but with a story in another country, the UK. The character who has become the focus of many discussions is Princess Kate, who always pleases many fans from all over the world.

Kate has become the center of discussion in recent days.

Source of doubt

In January, the British Royal Family surprised everyone by announcing that the Princess of Wales needed abdominal surgery, asserting that it was not cancer and warning that her recovery would take longer than expected. initial. Therefore, she will not continue to perform public duties until after Easter (March 31).

For several weeks, that explanation seemed “enough” to those concerned about the future queen’s health.

But by the end of February, a segment of netizens began to express doubts and speculate about Kate’s whereabouts, using the favorite method of “conspirators” everywhere: just asking vague questions. uh.

For example: “Aren’t we told anything?”. There are also questions accompanied by a bit of doubt: “Why did they hide the truth from us?”.

Writer Helen Lewis in The Atlantic magazine shared: “Over the past few weeks, on my WhatsApp groups, friends have constantly wondered what happened to the Princess of Wales. My American friends have Maybe my little British background might give me some mystical connection to the family in Windsor. They even texted me for updates. Everyone had a theory Everyone wants to know.

But there’s more: Everyone seems confused by the simple fact of not knowing exactly what’s going on with Kate.”

On March 4, a shady photo of Kate sitting in the passenger seat of a car with her mother, Carole Middleton, began circulating, but it didn’t stop the speculation.

Would her face look weird if you zoomed in 20 times? (True, but that’s the same for anyone). Where is Prince William? (Maybe with their children?). Was the photo staged like in Weekend at Bernie’s? Just to add fuel to the fire, that photo did not spread widely in England. Then netizens had to exclaim: Were we not informed? Why do they hide the truth from us?

Scandalous photo

Over the weekend, outrage increased when Kensington Palace released a photo of Kate with her three children, allegedly taken by William last week, on Mother’s Day in the UK.

Within hours, TikTok had scores of influencers seriously discussing the signs of awkward editing on Louis Wang’s patterned sweater.

On social network X, netizens even suspect it is a product created by AI. Another claimed in a viral post that the photo was taken in November 2017, based on the Welsh family wearing similar clothing. For some reason, the clothes were edited into different colors. A few other people also discovered unusual details that the bush behind the mother and child had a suspiciously bright green color because it was early spring in England. People even noticed the detail that Kate was not wearing a wedding ring.

However, on the same evening, a series of major news agencies issued notices to remove the photo, saying that the level of editing did not meet their standards.

Those who were already skeptical now have the opportunity to happily conclude that their suspicions have been confirmed.

Meanwhile, Britain’s national newspapers were angry. Most newspapers have published this image on the front page and now have to “race” to correct the information.

American news organizations are not members of the British Crown, and American privacy laws are much more lax. That affects what they publish. As a result, readers on both sides of the Atlantic can pick up on the fact that there are things that British newspapers don’t say or show them.

On March 4, when paparazzi photos of Kate in a car went viral, British royal reporters said Kensington Palace had pressured them not to use the photos because of privacy concerns. private. They complied, but the New York Post had no qualms about it.

However, other American newspapers also have limits on published content. However, social media platforms have no limits. People spread rampant speculation about William and Kate’s marriage that was left untouched by both the British and American press. Perhaps they are neither afraid of being caught by the royal family nor worried about being sued.

Everyone needs privacy

The current controversy highlights another tension between the royal family and the press. News agencies have at times been unhappy about politicians and members of the royal family providing “selfies” instead of inviting journalists to take photos of them.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has an official photographer to take pictures of him as a politician. Similarly, Kate, an amateur photographer, also took many of her children’s birthday portraits herself.

For that reason, removing Kate’s recent photo was probably not a difficult decision for photo agencies. They want to give their own opinion.

They also made the right decision in doing so. In the age of deepfake, transparency about the origin of images and how they were created is more important than ever.

After the photo was removed, analysis of its metadata showed it was taken in Windsor, where the Welsh family lives, and edited twice with Adobe Photoshop. Kate herself took responsibility for the photo, writing in a statement that “like many amateur photographers, I occasionally experiment with editing.”

Does this help? Of course not. Netizens continue to ask: How does she have the time and energy to do all this photo editing while recovering from surgery?

But, have you ever put yourself in the shoes of the Princess of Wales or her family to see things? Kate only wishes for one simple thing: to keep life as normal as possible for her children and maintain privacy about their health. Yet, the obvious thing about Kate’s “right to privacy” has turned into a “giant online game” that thousands of people participate in dissecting.

However, on the other hand, this story also gives us insight into the challenges that traditional media is facing. All because of the question of what is the truth.