How Kate's photographic saga became a crisis (Analysis)

(CNN) — Kensington Palace is not just the home of the Prince and Kate, Princess of Wales. It is a carefully managed brand under the supervision of the parent company of the British monarchy, which has a thousand years of practice in weaving good stories about itself.

This is part of the reason why many people find it difficult to understand the palace's public relations strategy surrounding the case of the missing princess.

Kensington Palace's attempts to quell such speculation have only made matters worse at times, especially after it published a Mother's Day photo on March 10 (the British celebrate Mother's Day early), showing the princess and their three children in a photo said to have been taken by Prince William that same week. .

This was supposed to be the photo that put an end to the growing rumours: definitive proof that all was well in the House of Windsor.

Instead, it turned everyone with an Internet connection into Photoshop experts and severely damaged the palace's credibility. A few hours after it was published, major photo agencies issued “takedown notices” after discovering that the photo had been doctored by the source. The princess later admitted that she had edited some parts of the photo, “as many amateur photographers do from time to time.”

“It's as if they're deliberately making things worse just to keep Meghan out of the news,” said Eric Soffer, a veteran crisis communications expert in New York (who was, of course, referring to the former Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle). ).

It all started going wrong earlier this year, with what many PR experts consider a classic mistake: not saying anything. When rumors about Kate's health began in January, the palace did not feel the need to refute the rumours.

She added that Kate had undergone unspecified abdominal surgery and would not resume public duties until “after Easter.”

The message at the time was: Can someone give the future queen some privacy?

For most people, the answer is yes. Many people outside the UK have probably never even heard of anything fishy going on with the royals, apart from the usual drama of a family operating under the relentless gaze of the media.

Then there were the photos that set the Internet on fire with the kind of old-fashioned social media chatter we haven't seen since Famous viral of 2015 about the color of the dress.

Due to Kate's popularity, They wrote My colleagues at CNN, “Every inch was meticulously scrutinized, and eagle-eyed royal watchers were quick to question the absence of her wedding or engagement ring and the lush greenery in the background despite the currently bitter March temperatures.”

The next day, the official account of Kensington Palace in London published a statement from Kate, who… I apologize For any confusion caused by your photo editing 'experience'.

However, with this photo, Kensington Palace destroyed its credibility with the press and much of the public.

It was a “keep calm and carry on” communications strategy that had worked at the palace before. But without further details from the actual speakers, the Internet did what it does best: take mostly harmless Internet conversations and amplify them until they go viral.

Media organizations, including CNN, are reviewing all photos previously provided by the palace.

Getty Images said this week it had found another official photo that had been digitally manipulated. CNN analysis is found Possible modifications in up to 19 locations.

Reuters news agency said on Wednesday that it was updating its procedures for examining photos from Kensington Palace after the discovery of the second doctored photo. Kate took this photo of Queen Elizabeth with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and it was published by Kensington Palace last year.

A Reuters spokesperson said in a statement: “In accordance with the Thomson Reuters Trust Principles, Reuters requires that images meet its editorial standards for image quality, accuracy and reliability.”

The photo scandal also raised questions about the conditions under which the media should accept and examine submitted photos (from any source), especially in the age of artificial intelligence and the ease of photo editing.

Media outlets, including CNN, frequently broadcast images of government officials and other sources to bring the public closer to images taken behind closed doors (think of the famous 2011 Situation Room photo of President Barack Obama and his advisors during the attack on the Osama compound Bin Laden). ). But Kate's photo scandal shows how professional photojournalists have to constantly update and challenge their processes.

Once upon a time, it might have been easier to a) get away with photo manipulation and b) rebuild your trust with reporters when the ball dropped.

But in the age of TikTok and YouTube, cleaning up the PR mess has become much more difficult.

The hordes of royal gossip don't stop even after they appear New photos of Kate on Tuesday.

In a video clip published by the British newspaper “The Sun”, Kate appeared walking in good health with her husband in the “farm shop” on Saturday.

The fans breathed a sigh of relief. But the mocking crowd immediately began accusing the palace of deception. This is “Fake Kate” as claimed by one TikTok user. “Look at the height difference!” The top caption on this post reads: “Listen girl, my tinfoil hat is on and I'm with you.” Another joked: “I think you're crazy and yet I trust you completely.”

All of this, of course, is mostly harmless online gossip. But the persistence of conspiracies shows the extent to which the palace has lost control of the narrative.

Keep calm and carry on, given the circumstances, now it's more like just staying silent and hoping everyone looks the other way.

—Brett Rogers contributed to this article.