'Enhanced' Photos of Kate Middleton Are Just More AI Bullshit

For much of the last week, a large part of both the conspiracy internet and the royal watching internet has been trying to determine if various blurry images and video screengrabs are of Duchess Kate Middleton, who has not been seen in public, or at all, since an apparent abdominal surgery in January. On Monday, the fervor entered a new phase when The Sun tabloid newspaper published video it says is of Kate and husband Prince William walking during a shopping trip. In response, multiple people have turned to so-called photo enhancement apps, which they believe prove the video isn’t actually of Kate at all.

If you haven’t been following or don’t know what I’m talking about, then you live a charmed existence. The short version is this: Kate has not been seen since January, which has caused people to speculate that her marriage to Prince William is on the rocks, or she is beefing with the Royals, is sick, dead, or otherwise disappeared. A week ago, the Royal Family released an image of Kate smiling with her three children, which it then retracted because it showed signs of being photoshopped. Reuters and the Associated Press pulled the photos from circulation, and the conspiracy theories went into overdrive. #WheresKate has trended on Twitter and coverage of Kate is all over TMZ, the Daily Mail, and other tabloids. Since then, various blurry media of “Kate” have emerged: One image shows her apparently sitting in a car and, Monday, footage published by Sky News supposedly shows Kate and William out shopping. 

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