The highly scrutinized photo of Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton, and her three children released Sunday to mark the U.K.'s Mother's Day was likely edited with Photoshop, despite critics' speculation it was doctored with artificial intelligence, experts say.
In a viral social media post Monday, the Princess of Wales, 42, admitted to "experiment[ing] with editing" and apologized "for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused."
Many theorized the photo, which garnered more than 25 million views on X, and featured Kate surrounded by her three, smiling young children - Princess Charlotte, 8, Prince George, 10, and Prince Louis, 5 - was manipulated through the use of AI, citing inconsistencies with clothing and body parts.
But speaking with NBC News, experts shot down that theory, instead pointing to the likely use of photo editing software, such as Photoshop.
"I think it is unlikely that this is anything more than a relatively minor photo manipulation," University of California, Berkeley Professor Hany Farid, a digital manipulation and misinformation expert, told the outlet. "There is no evidence that this image is entirely AI-generated," he said.
"I think most likely it is either some bad photoshop to, for example, remove a stain on the sweater, or is the result of on-camera photo compositing that combines multiple photos together to get a photo where everyone is smiling," Farid added.
Several news outlets, including the Associated Press, recanted their use of the photo over concerns it was altered, "because at closer inspection, it appears that the source had manipulated the image in a way that did not meet AP's photo standards. The photo shows an inconsistency in the alignment of Princess Charlotte's left hand," the agency stated, according to ABC News.
The online controversy marked the first time Princess Kate shared an official photo since she underwent abdominal surgery earlier this year and spent nearly two weeks hospitalized.
Few details regarding her condition have been released since, leading critics to make conjectures surrounding the nature of her health.
