キャサリン妃の写真めぐり混乱 広がる「ケイトスピラシー」

【ワシントンＡＦＰ＝時事】英王室が公開したキャサリン皇太子妃の家族写真が加工されていたことが分かり、インターネット上では「ケイトスピラシー」と呼ばれるうわさや陰謀論が広がる事態となった。（写真は２０２４年３月１０日に英国のケンジントン宮殿が公開したキャサリン皇太子妃と子どもたちの写真）
　「ケイトスピラシー」とは、キャサリン妃の名前と「陰謀（ｃｏｎｓｐｉｒａｃｙ）」をかけた造語。既に飛び交っていたさまざまな臆測を払拭（ふっしょく）するために公開された写真だが、かえって拍車をかける形となった。
　１月に腹部の手術を受けて以降、キャサリン妃は、公の場に姿を現していない。最後に姿を見せたのは昨年のクリスマス礼拝だ。
　新たな情報が一切発表されない中、ネットでは、キャサリン妃がウィリアム皇太子と破局した、摂食障害で療養している、ヒップアップの美容整形手術を受けているなどの臆測が飛び交った。中には、既に死去したのではないかという説もあった。
　英王室は１０日、ウィリアム皇太子が最近撮影したとするキャサリン妃と３人の子どもの写真を公開した。しかし、観察眼の鋭いソーシャルメディアユーザーは、キャサリン妃のジッパーの一部がずれているなど、不自然な点を指摘。ＡＦＰをはじめとする通信社各社は配信を取り消した。
　キャサリン妃は翌１１日、写真への加工を認めて謝罪した。しかし、これを受けて臆測はさらに広がり、ネット上では「英王室が隠している真実」をテーマにミーム（拡散される画像）が急増した。
　こうした事態について、情報を隠そうとすることでかえってその情報を拡散させてしまう現象「ストライサンド効果」の王室版と指摘する声も上がった。
　近年の生成ＡＩ（人工知能）の急速な進歩に伴い、フェイク画像や、ミスリードを招くような視覚的情報への懸念が世界的に高まっている。そのような社会的背景がある中で、今回のキャサリン妃の加工画像公開があった。
　チャールズ国王に関する著作を持つキャサリン・メイヤー氏はＸ（旧ツイッター）への投稿で、「王室が国民に対して重要な価値観の模範を示したいのであれば、まずはメディアへの向き合い方を見直し、透明性と真摯（しんし）さを選ぶべきだ」とし、「偽情報に立ち向かうべきであり、加担する側に回るべきではない」との考えを示した。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】

〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2024/03/13-21:40）

The picture was meant to douse speculation about the whereabouts and health of Britain's Catherine, Princess of Wales, but instead her manipulated image unleashed a torrent of internet-breaking rumors and conspiracy theories.
The storm in the royal tea pot erupted after Kate, 42, on Monday apologized and admitted to editing a palace-issued photograph of herself with her three children after the altered image was withdrawn by news agencies including AFP.
The fiasco gave way to a fresh swirl of speculation about the British royal -- dubbed online as Katespiracy -- laying bare the fragility of the digital landscape in the age of rampant disinformation that has eroded trust and turned social media users into amateur sleuths.
The internet guessing game had already begun after the princess was not seen in public since attending a Christmas Day church service and underwent abdominal surgery in January.
Amid a vacuum of information, online posts speculated whether her marriage to William, heir to the British throne, was on the rocks. Others pondered whether Kate was recovering from an eating disorder or the cosmetic procedure known as a Brazilian butt lift -- while some wondered whether she were even alive.
Proof of life landed on Sunday, when the palace released a photograph they said was recently snapped by William, but eagle-eyed social media users began tearing it apart for inconsistencies, such as a misaligned zipper on Kate's jacket.
The inconsistencies were so clear that several global news agencies, including AFP, pulled the picture from publication.
Then the rumor mill began spinning even faster after the princess declared in a statement that, whoops, she had edited the photograph -- without disclosing the reasons for doing so or what she had edited out.
The moral of the editing of the royal picture is simple. Tell all, wrote Guardian newspaper columnist Simon Jenkins.
At this stage, privacy does not work. It breeds rumour, gossip and fabrication.
- Internet rabbit holes -
That is exactly what happened. Social media exploded with memes exploring what the palace was hiding.
Every family hides a secret, read the text inscribed in one photo swirling on Twitter, now X, designed as a promo for a fictitious Netflix show titled: Royal Conspiracy. The disappearance of Kate Middleton.
Kensington Palace declined to release an unedited copy of the photograph, prompting social media detectives to go down new rabbit holes.
Some observers called it the Streisand effect, royal edition -- the palace secrecy and botched PR had made the speculation about Kate worse, leaving even those who typically steer clear of such gossip hooked.
There were questions about whether or not it was actually Kate who had edited the image.
Some turned to horticulturists, demanding to know the plant in the background of the altered photograph, as it looked suspiciously leafy for this time of the year in England.
A breed of self-declared Kate Middleton Truthers demanded to know her whereabouts, while some speculated ?- with a dash of humor -- whether she had ditched her family to do an intensive Photoshop course.
An entreaty from royal sympathizers seemingly went ignored as they insisted Kate was entitled to her privacy and should to be left alone.
- 'Transparency' -
The manipulated image dropped at a time when concerns around false or misleading visual information are at an all-time high, particularly following the rapid advances in generative artificial intelligence.
People now feel a pervasive, low-grade disorientation, suspicion, and distrust, US writer Charlie Warzel wrote in the Atlantic Monthly.
As the royal photo fiasco shows, the deepfake age doesn't need to be powered by generative AI -- a hasty Photoshop will do.
The furore also prompted many to ask whether British royals had altered images before, with media outlets such as CNN saying they were reviewing all handout photos previously provided by Kensington Palace.
The climate of online distrust has spurred new calls for transparency, even among British royal family members with a long tradition of secrecy.
Last month, King Charles III, Kate's father-in-law, won plaudits for publicly announcing his cancer diagnosis.
But many health experts faulted him for not declaring the type of cancer, a move that would have encouraged members of the British public to emulate him and get themselves examined.
If the royals really want to model important values to the nation, they should start by overhauling their approach to media in favour of transparency (and) scrupulous honesty, Catherine Mayer, author of the book Charles: The Heart of a King, wrote on X.
They should stand against disinformation, not contribute to it.