A warning has been issued by a team of fact-checking campaigners about a series of controversial AI-created images, which claim to show Princess Charlotte receiving treatment for cancer.
The computer-generated pictures - which are in no way accurate - have been shared this week on social media by a group of anonymous users, sparking concern for the nine-year-old's health.
Four 'photos' in particularly have been shared thousands of times by internet users.
One claims to show Charlotte - the middle child in the Prince and Princess of Wales' brood - lying a hospital bed, with an oxygen mask across her face. A second image appears to show her father, Prince William, at his daughter's bedside, leaning in to her.
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A third picture is marginally reminiscent of Charlotte's mother, Kate Middleton - who herself did receive treatment for cancer last year - in tears.
The real 43-year-old announced in March 2024 that she'd recently received a cancer diagnosis, and after chemotherapy, Kate revealed she'd concluded her treatment and was returning to work.
A fourth photo from the dubious collection claims to be a portrait of William, 42, himself also teary-eyed.
On a number of occasions, the fictionalised images have been accompanied by a link to a page containing a virus, under the guise of a news story about Charlotte's falsified diagnosis.
Many of these uploads have contained the caption: "Prince William decided to announce the saddest news: ‘My daughter has..see more'."
Others are captioned: "Prince William Reveals: His Daughter Battles the Same Illness as Her Mother..see more."
There is no indication, however - either through official social media announcements, or updates provided by Kensington Palace - that Charlotte is anything other than a fit and healthy child.
Previously, when a member of the British Royal Family has fallen ill, an official, certified statement is provided to the press, being that it is deemed in the public's interest to be made aware of any ailments.
No such statement has been released this, however.
In a statement made today, a spokesperson from Full Fact - a registered charity which works to have false, misleading and harmful content removed from the internet - addressed the stomach-wrenching images of the young Princess.
"A montage of images appearing to show Princess Charlotte in hospital has been shared thousands of times," the site explained.
"But these pictures are not real, and have almost certainly been generated with artificial intelligence (AI).
"There have been no reports of the princess being unwell."
Addressing the tell-tale signs that the image has been generated using AI, the charity pointed out that one of William's shirt buttons is 'not fully formed', and that the sleeve of his shirt fails to bear the same pattern as the rest of the garment.
The image supposedly showing Kate, meanwhile, is 'overly smooth' and 'cartoonish'.
"We’ve previously written about other examples of what are almost certainly AI generated images being shared as if they’re genuine, or mistaken for real images, including those depicting other members of the Royal Family," a spokesperson from Full Fact added.
"It’s important to consider whether what you’re seeing is real before sharing it on social media, and our guide to verifying AI-generated images online offers some tips for doing this."
For more information on AI-generated images - click here.
Tyla has contacted Kensington Palace for comment.
Topics: UK News, News, Royal Family, Kate Middleton, Prince William, Cancer, Health, Artificial intelligence, Technology
The Tyla Team