Photo agencies refuse to publish a portrait of Kate Middleton with her children because they fear it is manipulated

• Several photo agencies have removed the new portrait of Kate Middleton for editorial reasons.

• The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse issued death sentences because of the photo.

• The photo has fueled conspiracy theories about Kate’s whereabouts.

Several photo agencies are raising the alarm that Kate Middleton’s latest portrait with her children may have been digitally altered.

Both the Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse have issued kill notices to the media in connection with the photo released from Kensington Palace on Sunday, announcing that they would no longer distribute the image.

The AP wrote: “It appears that the source manipulated the image.” AFP spoke of an “editorial issue,” while Reuters said the photo was withdrawn after a “post-publication review.”

The picture of Kate and her children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis was shared on social media by Kensington Palace and taken by Prince William, the BBC reported. It is the first official photo of Kate since she was last seen in public on Christmas Day.

Since then, the princess has kept a low profile and was only seen once in a paparazzi photo published by TMZ in March.

The only significant news the palace announced on January 17 was that Kate would need to undergo abdominal surgery. On January 29, Kensington Palace also announced that Kate had returned to Windsor Castle and publicly denied claims that she had been in a coma.

The mystery surrounding her months-long disappearance has sparked conspiracy theories about Kate’s whereabouts and health, and the latest photo hasn’t done much to calm those theories.

After the release, social media was awash with sleuths wondering whether the photo was Photoshopped or created by artificial intelligence. Many focused on the cuff of Princess Charlotte’s pink cardiganwhich seems to disappear in the photo.

An AP spokesperson referred Business Insider to an article in the newspaper explaining why he believed the photo was manipulated. “The photo shows an inconsistency in the orientation of Princess Charlotte’s left hand,” the AP said.

Social media users also pointed out that Kate was not wearing her wedding ring.

One X-user wrote that there were “no rings, the kids all crossed their fingers, weird blurriness on Charlotte’s cuffs” and leaves on the trees despite the time of year, adding, “I’m sorry but they’re just asking us to go full Katespiracy at this point.”

Reuters and AFP did not immediately respond to a request for comment from BI. Kensington Palace did not immediately respond to questions from BI about allegations that the photo was doctored and did not comment publicly on the matter.

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