AFP Withdraws Trust in Kensington Palace Over Doctored Kate Photo
Agence France-Presse (AFP) has announced a reassessment of its relationship with Kensington Palace following a controversy involving an edited Mother's Day image of Kate Middleton. The global news director of AFP, Phil Chetwynd, emphasized that the photo violated the agency's guidelines and as a result, AFP no longer views the palace as a "trusted source." The altered image had been released amid online speculation about Middleton's health after her abdominal surgery.
The doctored image led to an unusual step by AFP and other major news agencies, including Associated Press and EuroJournal, to issue "kill notices" for the photo, advising editors not to use the manipulated image. The agencies attempted to obtain the original photo from the palace for verification but received no response, leading to this decisive action. This type of recall is generally reserved for images from authoritarian regimes such as North Korea or Iran.
Chetwynd admitted that this incident has exposed significant internal issues regarding the validation of photos and reflects broader concerns about trust in institutions. Meanwhile, Kate Middleton has issued an apology for any confusion caused by the edited photo, which she described as an "experiment with editing." The situation has sparked a debate about the authenticity and trustworthiness of official photos released by public figures and institutions.
