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Media agencies pull photo of Kate, Princess of Wales, citing manipulation | MediaNews

AP, Reuters, AFP and Getty withdraw first official image of the Princess of Wales released since her surgery.

The first official photo of Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales, released since she underwent abdominal surgery has been pulled by multiple media agencies amid concerns the image was manipulated.

The Associated Press (AP), Reuters, Getty Images and Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Sunday issued notices not to use the image of Kate and her three children, which was released by Kensington Palace.

The AP said the photo had been withdrawn because upon “closer inspection, it appears that the source had manipulated the image” and the photo showed an “inconsistency in the alignment” of the left hand of Kate’s daughter, Princess Charlotte.

The AFP said the image could not be used as it had been “altered” without elaborating.

Reuters said it had deleted the image “following a post-publication review”.

When contacted for comment, the AP and AFP directed Al Jazeera to statements contained in the withdrawal notices issued to their media clients.

Reuters and Getty Images did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

Kensington Palace did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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by Candra•
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Kate, Princess of Wales, apologizes for editing Mother’s Day photo



CNN
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Catherine, Princess of Wales has taken responsibility and apologized for an edited official photograph that was recalled by a number of international news agencies over concerns it had been manipulated.

Kate said she was sorry for “any confusion” caused by the image, after her “experiment” with photo editing caused scrutiny for Kensington Palace and increased confusion over Kate’s extended absence from the public eye.

The photograph, released Sunday to mark Mother’s Day in the UK, was the first official picture of Kate since she underwent abdominal surgery in January.

But hours after it was released by Kensington Palace, four major photo agencies issued “kill notices,” expressing concerns it had been edited.

An initial CNN review of the image identified at least two areas that appeared to show some evidence of potential manipulation, including Princess Charlotte’s sleeve cuff, and a zipper on the left hand side on the jacket of the Princess of Wales.

This photo, showing Catherine with her children George, Charlotte and Louis, was released to mark Mother's Day on Sunday. The circled areas of the picture appear to show evidence of manipulation.
This area on the sleeve of Princess Charlotte shows evidence of potential manipulation.

Catherine wrote on X: “Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing. I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused.”

She was later photographed alongside her husband, William, Prince of Wales, in a car leaving

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by Candra•
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Aurora’s effective yet expensive photo speed enforcement program will end: “Over-promised and under-delivered”

Safety is priceless, but a recent pilot program meant to reduce speeding has cost the City of Aurora over half a million dollars. While city leaders acknowledge that photo enforcement vehicles have slowed drivers, a new discussion begins about a more efficient way to keep streets safe.

CBS News Colorado spoke with APD last year when the pilot program was unveiled.

Marked vehicles with light detection and ranging technology were deployed in residential neighborhoods where the speed limit reads 35 MPH or less, school and work zones, and streets that border a municipal park.

Tuesday, CBS News Colorado visited a neighborhood where a vehicle was stationed. It was parked on the shoulder of Telluride Street across from Vassar Elementary School, by a sidewalk frequented by students and neighbors.

“After school, you see a lot of cars going really fast,” said one teenager walking by.

“I know you’re trying to get your kid, but still. I’m trying to get home,” said his friend.

Many drivers take the posted 35 MPH speed limit as a suggestion.

It’s long been a problem for residents in the Aurora neighborhood.

aurora-photo-radar-ending-10pkg-frame-1415.jpg

CBS


George Archaniotis and his neighbors signed a petition to get city engineers out for

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by Candra•
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Kate Middleton says she edited her Mother’s Day photo : NPR

Kate, Princess of Wales, says she edited a photo that seemed to promise to ease concerns about her health — but only raised new questions. She’s seen here greeting the public on Christmas Day, last December.

Stephen Pond/Getty Images


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Stephen Pond/Getty Images


Kate, Princess of Wales, says she edited a photo that seemed to promise to ease concerns about her health — but only raised new questions. She’s seen here greeting the public on Christmas Day, last December.

Stephen Pond/Getty Images

The family photo might have helped ease concerns and questions about Kate, the Princess of Wales — but then viewers noted irregularities in the image, and a flurry of new questions emerged. And now the princess has acknowledged that the photo she released on Sunday was manipulated.

“Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing,” the princess said on social media Monday. “I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused.”

Acknowledgment of the doctored photo came after several news agencies retracted the photo. The Associated Press, for example, noted the odd “alignment of Princess Charlotte’s left hand with the sleeve of her sweater” and

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by Candra•
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The Royal Family’s History of Photo Retouching

On Monday, Kate Middleton apologized for editing a family photo that was released to news wires to mark Mother’s Day in the United Kingdom. The move came hours after Associated Press, AFP, and Reuters, pulled the photo, saying it had been altered in violation of their photography standards.

“Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing,” read a statements posted to the Prince and Princess of Wales’s social media accounts. “I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused.”

But Middleton’s Mother’s Day picture is not the first royal family photo to come under scrutiny.

Last year, the family’s 2023 holiday season portrait generated tabloid buzz because it looked like five-year-old Prince Louis was missing a middle finger. Even Saturday Night Live poked fun at it, with “Weekend Update” anchor Colin Jost joking, “Meghan Markle said she has a finger they can use if they need it.”

Royal family photos have occasionally been criticized for looking too staged. In 2015, BuzzFeed zeroed in on baby Princess Charlotte’s smile, which appeared forced, and speculated whether the photo had been edited. And in April 2023, tech CEO Christopher Bouzy—who appears in the

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by Candra•
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Chinese leader Xi issues a positive message at a meeting with US business leaders as ties improve

BEIJING (AP) — China’s nationalist leader, Xi Jinping, called for closer trade ties with the US during a meeting on Wednesday with top American business leaders in Beijing that came amid a steady improvement in relations that had sunk to the lowest level in years.

Xi described the mutually beneficial economic ties between the world’s two largest economies, despite heavy US tariffs on Chinese imports and Washington’s accusations of undue Communist Party influence, unfair trade barriers and theft of intellectual property.

China’s economy has struggled to recover from severe self-imposed restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic that only lifted at the end of 2022. But Xi said that China was again contributing to world economic growth in the double digits percentage-wise.

“Sino-US relations are one of the most important bilateral relations in the world. “Whether China and the United States cooperate or confront each other has a bearing on the well-being of the two peoples and the future and destiny of mankind,” Xi was quoted as saying by China’s official Xinhua News Agency.

Participants at the meeting included Stephen A. Schwarzman, the billionaire head of investment firm Blackstone.

Trade and tariffs have increasingly drawn attention in the run-up to the

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by Candra•
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Princess of Wales says she edited family photo recalled by picture agencies | Catherine, Princess of Wales

The Princess of Wales has issued a public apology and said she was responsible for digitally editing a Mother’s Day family photograph released to the media but withdrawn by international picture agencies over suspicions it had been “manipulated”.

The photo of Catherine and her three children, taken by the Prince of Wales last week and the first of the princess since she underwent abdominal surgery in January, caused widespread speculation on social media, with the incident used to raise questions over public trust in the royal family.

Released at a time when conspiracy theories over her illness and absence flooded social media, it sought to reassure the public of her recovery but was backfired spectacularly, fueling claims it could be faked.

The full photo issued by Kensington Palace. Photograph: Prince of Wales/AP

With the debacle threatening to overshadow the king’s Commonwealth Day message, the princess released a brief statement on social media, which said: “Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing. I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused. I hope everyone celebrating had a very happy Mother’s Day. C.”

Five international picture agencies that initially distributed the image

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by Candra•
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Why Media Outlets Took Down Princess Kate’s Photo – and Why It Matters

“It appears that the source had manipulated the image in a way that did not meet AP’s photo standards,” the AP said in a statement. “The photo shows an inconsistency in the alignment of Princess Charlotte’s (Kate’s daughter) left hand.”

Kate, who hasn’t made a public appearance since Christmas and reportedly stayed two weeks in the hospital in January after a planned abdominal surgery, later apologized for the “confusion” the photo caused.

“Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing,” she said in a social media post.

Aside from fueling more speculation about Kate’s health and whereabouts, this week’s developments have also raised questions about journalistic ethics in this fast-paced, digital age. We caught up with Sweeney, who once worked as a producer for National Geographic, for further insight.

Q. What is the public disservice in a reputable media outlet publishing a doctored photo?

A. It’s a step away from

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by Candra•
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Kate Middleton photo scandal links Palace to North Korea and Iran, news chief says – POLITICO

“No, absolutely not,” Chetwynd said, when asked if the Palace was still a trusted source. “Like with anything, when you’re let down by a source the bar is raised.”

Last weekend, several news agencies — including The Associated Press (AP), Reuters, Getty Images and AFP — issued “kill notices” for a Mother’s Day photo released by Kensington Palace, which showed the Princess of Wales embracing her three smiling children.

The photo has been released partly in an apparent bid to quell a surge of online conspiracy theories about the whereabouts and well-being of Kate, who has not been seen in public since she underwent abdominal surgery earlier this year. But the world’s top media agencies quickly pulled it from circulation after finding that it appeared to have been manipulated—a bombshell which only fueled the already out-of-control rumor mill.

Kate later admitted to editing the photo, apologizing for “any confusion.” But the damage was done, as the scandal inflamed the crisis of trust already brewing in Kensington Palace.

“One thing that’s really important is that you cannot distort reality for the public. There’s a question of trust,” Chetwynd said.

Chetwynd said AFP initially validated the photo, but that should never have

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by Candra•
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Kate’s doctored photo raises concerns about tools that let everyone easily edit images



CNN
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An edited photograph of Catherine, Princess of Wales, and her family that several news agencies have since pulled for evidence of manipulation raises a thorny question: In an age when digital editing tools are more widespread and easier than ever to use, what even is a photo anymore?

From camera stabilization to advanced, AI-driven image filters and other tools, it has never been simpler to create stunning, high-quality images using basic consumer hardware. Smartphone makers and app developers increasingly promote this technology as helpful for creators and everyday users.

But it also introduces fresh opportunities for even the well-intentioned to misdirect viewers.

The image released Sunday by Kensington Palace shows the Princess of Wales surrounded by her children and appears intended to put to rest speculation about her health. But outlets including Agence France-Presse, Reuters and the Associated Press pointed to a misaligned sleeve and hand as evidence the photo had been doctored. (CNN is continuing to use the photo, appropriately captioned to reflect the debate around its authenticity.)

In a statement, Kate acknowledged that she used an editing tool or tools to change the image.

“Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing,” she said,

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by Candra•