In deep fakes world, trust is ever more precious

While ‘experiments with editing’ by Princess of Wales were harmless, Royals must stay aware of their responsibilities

When a photograph was issued of the Princess of Wales with her children for Mother’s Day, it was thought the image of the happy, smiling family would help quell rumours and conspiracy theories about her lack of recent public appearances. Instead, it only added to the furore.

Picture agencies sent out the photo to the media, then issued withdrawal notices after realising it had been digitally manipulated. Catherine has now apologised, saying that “like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing”.

Modern technology makes this so easy to do – indeed, it is marketed as a selling point by smartphone-makers – that it has become commonplace. In the vast majority of cases, its use will be entirely uncontroversial and, we believe, that is the case here. There is no evidence an attempt was made to misrepresent Kate’s health or the happiness of her children, or alter the “meaning” of the image. The changes were easy to miss but they were not hidden. A deliberate attempt to deceive would have been done far more professionally so the explanation is perfectly plausible.

However, such technology has terrifying potential. Already the US election has seen deliberately faked images of Donald Trump meeting African Americans posted online by his supporters. Real footage of US President Joe Biden was also altered to make it appear he was touching his granddaughter inappropriately – and, astonishingly, this was allowed to circulate on Facebook. In a world where “deep fake” videos can make politicians appear to say and do whatever the creators want, we all need to be alive to the possibility that we are being deceived. This means trust and reputation are now more valuable and precious than ever.

Amid so much fakery, we have to be able to trust official sources of information, particularly from an institution like the Royal Family, which should always be among the most trustworthy sources of information. The affair is a huge embarrassment for them, a reminder of their responsibilities, and a real lesson in how not to quell a social media storm.