Royal Family

La saga de Kate Middleton continúa. Debido a que el Palacio de Kensington decidió mantener su foto editada en Instagram, la plataforma le está advirtiendo a la gente que se trata de una imagen fraudulenta.

Instagram le da dado una cachetada oficial a su foto del Día de la Madre, la que se supo que estaba súper editada, con una bandera que le permite a los usuarios saber explícitamente que la imagen no es auténtica y que deberían tener cuidado con ella.

Su post de Instagram ahora dice: "Foto/video alterado. La misma foto alterada fue revisada por verificadores de hechos independientes en otro post".

Una descripción adicional de la alerta dice que el verificador de hechos encontró que la foto había sido editada de una manera que podría inducir a la gente a error, pero no porque se mostrara fuera de contexto. En otras palabras, ¡esto se cocinó en un laboratorio!

El verificador de hechos en que se basa IG (Meta) para sacar estas conclusiones es una empresa llamada EFE Verifica, una organización española que se especializa en este tipo de cosas.

Por cierto, Instagram no es la única empresa que se está distanciando de la foto de Kate. La agencia de noticias francesa AFP (un actor muy respetado) salió públicamente a decir esta semana que no consideran que el Palacio de Kensington sea una fuente confiable.

El director global de AFP dijo que iban a examinar seriamente cualquier cosa que les envíe Kensington en el futuro y también enviaron un aviso a sus equipos a nivel mundial.

Es un gran golpe a la reputación del Palacio de Kensington, sin duda, y el hecho de que aún tengan esta imagen manipulada es sorprendente, especialmente con todas las reacciones, teorías conspirativas y especulaciones sobre el paradero y estado de Kate.

El Palacio aún no ha respondido a las preguntas sobre esto, a pesar de que todo el mundo se les ha acercado para que hagan más comentarios. Pero por supuesto, este enfoque de meter la cabeza en la arena parece estar encabezado por el propio príncipe William, quien sigue con sus deberes reales como si nada hubiese pasado.

De hecho, Bill estuvo junto a Youth Zone el jueves, una organización que ayuda a los niños más desfavorecidos, con los que fue visto haciendo galletas. También aludió a Kate diciendo que su esposa era la "artística" de la familia en alusión a las decoraciones.

William ha estado haciendo un montón de cosas toda la semana, y aún no ha abordado lo que pasa con Kate. Francamente, no está claro si alguien le ha preguntado.

Si su actitud es una indicación de algo, parece que el equipo del Palacio de Kensington está siguiendo su ejemplo, pero Kate-Gate no va a desaparecer.

The Kate Middleton saga continues -- in light of Kensington Palace choosing to keep their fake photo of her up on Instagram ... the platform is now warning people, this is fraudulent.

IG has officially slapped the Mother's Day picture seen 'round-the-world -- which has since been revealed to be heavily edited -- with a flag that explicitly lets people know the picture ain't authentic ... and that users would be wise to be cautious with it.

The disclaimer on her post now reads, "Altered photo/video. The same altered photo was reviewed by independent fact-checkers in another post."

A further description of their decision to label her picture with this explains that the fact-checker found the photo had been edited in a way that could mislead people, but not because it was shown out of context. Translation ... this thing was cooked up in the lab!

The third-party fact-checker that IG (Meta) is relying on for this conclusion is a company called EFE Verifica -- which is a Spanish org that specializes in this sorta thing.

BTW, Instagram is not the only company that's distancing itself from Kate's pic -- French news agency AFP (a well-respected player) came out publicly this week to say that they do not consider Kensington Palace a trusted source.

AFP's global news director said they were going to heavily vet anything that Kensington sends their way going forward ... and a notice has been sent to their teams globally.

It's a big hit to the reputation of Kensington Palace, no doubt -- and the fact that they still have this doctored image up is astounding ... especially with all the backlash, conspiracy theories and speculation that has followed on Kate's whereabouts and condition.

Of course, this head-in-the-sand approach -- remember, the Palace has yet to address more questions about this, despite everyone having reached out for further comment -- seems to be spearheaded by Prince William himself, who's continuing on like nothing's happened.

In fact, Bill was on hand Thursday for more Royal duties with the OnSide Youth Zone -- who help disadvantaged kids -- and here, he was seen making cookies with youngsters ... and he actually alluded to Kate, saying his wife was the "arty" one as he botched icing decorations.

He's been doing a bunch of work-related stuff all week, and has yet to address head-on what's up with Kate ... frankly, it's unclear if anyone's even asked him.

If his attitude here -- namely, to ignore and power on -- is any indication ... it seems the rest of the Kensington Palace team is following his lead, but Kate-Gate ain't going away.

Prince Harry and Prince William are both set to attend a memorial event for their late mother, Princess Diana -- but as for them kickin' it in the same room ... forget it.

The brothers are gearing up for a rare joint appearance at the Diana Legacy Award event at the Science Museum in London Thursday ... but Harry's not hopping on a plane to be there, 'cause he'll be beaming in virtually from his home base here in California.

So, here's how it's gonna go down, per reports ... William will kick things off, doing his speech and handing out 20 awards at the ceremony -- held to reflect Princess Diana's belief that young folks can totally shake things up and make a difference in the world.

Will's gonna be riding solo to the event -- as his wife Kate Middleton continues to be noticeably MIA -- and once he wraps up, Harry's gonna zap into the room afterward.

Reports say Harry is going to wait until William completely leaves the stage before coming on himself. Safe to say, this is not a good sign of where their relationship is ... it's still icy.

The siblings have been locked in a feud for years now, which intensified after Harry and Meghan Markle's bombshell interview with Oprah and their Netflix special. It all came to a head with the release of Harry's memoir, where he laid bare the deets of their rift.

Remember, Harry said William got physical with him back in 2019 ... claiming he grabbed him by the collar, ripped off his necklace, and straight-up knocked him to the ground -- this after he supposedly called Meghan "difficult," "rude," and "abrasive."

On this episode of The TMZ podcast ...

Kim Kardashian was spotted standing alongside her ex-husband Kanye West's wife Bianca Censori at his 'Vultures II' listening party in San Francisco and the two seemed chill and comfortable around each other!

New conspiracy theories are arising surrounding Kate Middleton's mysterious absence from the public. The Princess of Wales didn't help the situation when she shared a heavily edited photo on Mother's Day.

Neve Campbell has rejoined the cast of "Scream 7" after previously exiting over fair pay disagreements.

Plus, Aaron Rodgers is reportedly at the top of the list to run as Robert F. Kennedy's VP candidate.

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Hosts: Charlie Cotton & Tish Roberts

La saga de Kate Middleton continúa y ahora Stephen Colbert se está inclinando por un nuevo rumor y es que el príncipe Guillermo podría estar teniendo una supuesta aventura.

El anfitrión del "Late Show" habló de la realeza durante su monólogo de apertura el martes y abrazó por completo la infundada especulación e insinuación de que tal vez Bill la esté engañando, un rumor que ha estado circulando desde hace un tiempo en los tabloides, etc.

La supuesta "otra mujer" en cuestión es Lady Rose Hanbury, la marquesa de Cholmondeley, que lleva años en la órbita íntima de Guillermo y Kate como amiga.

Como hemos dicho, esto nunca se ha confirmado, pero se ha hablado de ello durante mucho tiempo, y ahora, en medio de la misteriosa ausencia de Kate, se ha puesto en marcha nuevamente con algunos sugiriendo que tiene algo que ver con el motivo por el que Kate Middleton ha estado fuera de los focos últimamente.

Colbert no parecía muy interesado en conectar los puntos, pero estaba feliz de burlarse de los titulares que han teorizado sobre esto, haciendo bromas a costa de Will y Kate.

Incluso se burló de un informe que sugiere que Kate se habría enfrentado a su marido por esto y que el príncipe supuestamente "se habría reído" y le habría dicho que no es nada.

Como informamos, William ha mantenido la calma y continúa con sus deberes reales mientras Kate sigue recuperándose de su cirugía abdominal a puerta cerrada. Aunque se han podido ver destellos de ella por aquí y por allá desde su procedimiento en enero.

Por supuesto, su fallido intento de Photoshop el fin de semana, que ha asumido explícitamente como su responsabilidad, solo añadió más leña al fuego sobre lo que realmente está pasando con ella.

El hecho es que casi nadie cree que la foto haya sido tomada cuando el Palacio de Kensington dice, y con este nuevo rumor circulando, Will y Kate solo tienen otra capa más con la que lidiar mientras la gente sigue analizando teoría tras teoría.

The Kate Middleton saga continues -- and now, Stephen Colbert is leaning into a new salacious rumor ... namely, that Prince William might allegedly be having an affair.

The 'Late Show' host made the Royals one of his topics on Tuesday night's opening monologue -- and he completely embraced unfounded speculation and innuendo that Bill is, perhaps, cheating ... a rumor that has been floating around for a while in tabloids, etc.

The alleged "other woman" in question is Lady Rose Hanbury -- the Marchioness of Cholmondeley -- who's been in William and Kate's inner orbit, as a friend, for years.

Like we said, this has never been confirmed ... but it's been gossiped about for a long time -- and now, amid Kate's mysterious absence, it's kicked into high gear again ... with some suggesting that it somehow has something to do with why KM's been out of the spotlight.

Colbert didn't seem all that interested in connecting the dots -- but he was happy to poke fun at the headlines that have theorized this ... cracking jokes at Will and Kate's expense.

He even made fun of a report that suggested Kate had confronted her husband about this ... to which the Prince allegedly "laughed it off" and said it was much ado about nothing.

As we reported ... William has been keeping calm and carrying on with his Royal duties as Kate continues to recover from her abdominal surgery behind closed doors -- although, slight glimpses of her have been seen here and there ever since her procedure in January.

Of course, her failed Photoshop attempt over the weekend -- which she has explicitly taken the blame for -- only added more fuel to the fire on what exactly is going on with her.

Fact is ... hardly anybody believes the picture was taken when Kensington Palace says it was -- and with this new affair rumor now making its way into the mainstream ... it's just another layer that Will and Kate have to combat as people keep digging into theory after theory.

Las ediciones de Kate Middleton con Photoshop tenían al menos 16 errores que los expertos pudieron notar, y con la publicación de una nueva foto, más teorías conspirativas comienzaron a aparecer.

El homenaje del Día de la Madre de la princesa de Galles ha sido analizado en profundidad por varios fotógrafos diferentes del Daily Mail, y en conjunto destacaron más de una docena de errores que Kate cometió durante la manipulación de su polémica foto.

Tras una inspección más cercana de la imagen viral -que muestra a la princesa Kate posando para una foto con sus hijos, el príncipe Jorge, la princesa Carlota y el príncipe Luis- está claro que se cambió bastante después de que al parecer se guardara dos veces en Photoshop.

A continuación tenemos una lista completa de los errores detectados. A Charlotte le falta una parte de la manga izquierda; la cremallera de Kate está torcida; el pelo de Charlotte está cortado; la falda de Charlotte sobresale; las rodillas de Charlotte están borrosas; la manga del jersey de Louis está contorsionada; el pulgar derecho de Louis está borroso; la cornisa está distorsionada; el paso detrás de Louis está distorsionado; el dedo de Louis parece cortado; el jersey azul de George mejorado; la mano de Kate desenfocada; la manga del jersey de George tiene líneas inusuales. ¡Uf!

Con todos estos cambios realizados, muchos se inclinan ahora por una nueva teoría acerca de cuando esta foto fue tomada en realidad y si todo el mundo en la foto estaba realmente ahí cuando se tomó.

Los detectives en línea se remontaron a diciembre, cuando un video fue publicado en el canal oficial de YouTube del Príncipe y la Princesa de Gales, que muestra a Kate y a sus hijos haciendo un trabajo de caridad en trajes que algunos creen que parecen coincidir con esta foto del Día de la Madre.

Los colores de la ropa de cada persona son diferentes de lo que se ve en la imagen en cuestión, pero algunos han sugerido que es justamente ahí donde se encuentran las alteraciones, en los cambios de color.

Hay otra teoría de la conspiración que tiene que ver con la foto que salió a la luz el lunes, la cual muestra a Kate y al príncipe Guillermo en un carro dejando Windsor.

No se puede ver la cara de Kate claramente en este nuevo ángulo, es casi como si ella estuviera mirando hacia otro lado. Debido a esto, algunos han asegurado que la foto está manipulada, a pesar de que nos hemos asegurado de que la agencia que la distribuye es auténtica.

La razón por la que la gente sospecha de esta foto, también es Photoshop, sin embargo, tiene que ver con el hecho de que la apariencia de Kate aquí refleja una foto más antigua que la de 2016, cuando fue fotografiada de pie con Guillermo y el príncipe Harry. Algunos creen que el ángulo y la imagen son idénticas.

Es una teoría interesante, pero el departamento de arte de TMZ intentó comparar las dos imágenes, como muchos ya lo han hecho en línea, y no encajaron perfectamente... específicamente alrededor de las orejas. En otras palabras, es muy probable que estas sean dos fotografías diferentes.

El equipo de arte de TMZ trató de duplicar las ediciones, y por desgracia para los teóricos de la conspiración, no hay coincidencias. Así que... a pesar de la especulación, parecen ser diferentes fotos.

Sin embargo, eso no va a detener a la gente de seguir especulando, y a menos que Kate aparezca a dar explicaciones, la gente no va a detenerse.

Kate Middleton's Photoshop fail reportedly had at least 16 editing mistakes that experts could see ... and with the release of a new pic, more conspiracy theories are mounting.

The Princess of Wales' UK Mother's Day tribute has been analyzed in-depth by several different photographers who weighed in with the Daily Mail -- who collectively highlighted more than a dozen blunders Kate made while manipulating her controversial pic.

Upon closer inspection of the viral image -- which shows Princess Kate posing for a photo with her children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis -- it's clear that quite a bit was changed after reportedly being saved twice on Photoshop.

Here is a full list of the spotted errors ... Charlotte is missing a part of her left sleeve; Kate's zipper is screwy; Charlotte's hair is cut off; Charlotte's skirt juts out; Charlotte's knees are blurred; Louis' sweater sleeve is contorted; Louis' right thumb is blurry; indent/distortion on the ledge; step behind Louis is distorted; Louis' finger looks cut off; George's blue sweater enhanced; Kate's hand out of focus; George's sweater sleeve has unusual lines. Phew!

With all these changes made ... many are now leaning into a new theory about when this photo was actually taken -- and what everyone in the pic was actually wearing at the time.

Online sleuths went back to December, when a video was posted to the official YouTube channel of the Prince and Princess of Wales -- which shows Kate and her kids doing some charity work ... in outfits that some believe seem to match up with this Mother's Day photo.

The colors of each person's clothing are different than what you see in the picture in question -- but some have suggested that's where the real alterations lie ... namely, color swaps.

There's another conspiracy theory floating around as well ... and this one has to do with the photo that surfaced Monday showing Kate and Prince William in a car leaving Windsor.

You can't see Kate's face clearly in this new shot -- it's almost as if she's looking away -- and because of that ... some have made the leap that even if this photo might be manipulated ... even though we've been assured by the photog/agency distributing it that it's authentic.

The reason people suspect this pic might be Photoshopped, too, though has to do with the fact Kate's appearance here mirrors an older photo she was in from back in 2016 ... when she was snapped standing with Will and Prince Harry. Some think the angle/image are identical.

It's an interesting thought, but TMZ's art department tried lining up the two images -- as many have already done online -- but they don't blend into each other perfectly, specifically around the ears. In other words ... it is very likely these are, in fact, 2 different photographs.

TMZ's art team tried duplicating the edits ... and, unfortunately for conspiracy theorists, it doesn't line up. So ... despite the speculation, it does seem to be different photos.

That's not gonna stop the tinfoil hat people from continuing to gossip/speculate though ... and anything short of seeing Kate hop on camera or come out for an actual appearance probably won't appease everyone who's fired up about this.

On this episode of The TMZ podcast ...

Controversial influencer Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan Tate are facing more legal troubles after they were detained in Romania on new sexual offenses after four women claim they were physically and sexually abused.

Kate Middleton was spotted in the back of a car with Prince William while he was out and about for a Commonwealth service amid her Mother's Day photoshop scandal.

Cardi B shocked the crowd at Madonna's concert Monday night with a surprise appearance, and the two got raunchy onstage.

Plus, Jamaican musician and rapper Shaggy stunned fans when he revealed his real voice in a new interview.

Mientras Kate Middleton y la familia real se recuperan del escándalo de la foto del Día de la Madre, la empresa que les ayudó a conseguirlo está de fiesta, porque Photoshop está de moda en Wall Street.

A pesar de que la Princesa de Gales -o alguien en el palacio- no sabe muy bien como manejar el famoso Softweare, la empresa matriz de Photoshop, Adobe, vio un repunte en el precio de sus acciones después de la negociación del lunes, reafirmando el viejo dicho que asegura que "no existe la mala publicidad".

Aquí está el desglose: Adobe (ADBE), iba por los $551.69 el viernes, aumentó un poco el lunes por la mañana a $552.45, y al final del día, subió  estrepitosamente a $560.42. ¡Los números no mienten!

El experto en negocios, Trung Phan inmediatamente le atribuyó la capitalización bursátil de 3.000 millones de dólares de la compañía a la afirmación de que la princesa Kate había utilizado el producto de Adobe.

Por supuesto, no está claro si la polémica de Kate realmente está detrás de la fluctuación... pero la coincidencia es grande.

También parece que todo el mundo se divierte imaginando a Kate como una persona normal, haciendo clic en Photoshop como el resto de los mortales.

Una persona bromeó en X: "Me gusta la idea de que Kate Middleton consiguió un descuento real en la nube creativa de Adobe y comenzó a hurgar en Photoshop", y otro agregó: "El Palacio ahora va a actualizar a la suite completa de Adobe para arreglar la foto de Kate Middleton".

Sin embargo, mientras que un montón de teorías conspirativas están dando vueltas acerca de por qué la realeza adulteró la foto, la declaración oficial del Palacio de Kensington de Kate afirma que solo hizo un trabajo mediocre con Photoshop para mejorar su foto del Día de la Madre con sus tres hijos.

No hay explicaciones de por qué el Palacio mintió en primer lugar, o de cuándo se tomó la foto, ni hay noticias sobre lo que realmente está pasando con la recuperación de Kate a dos meses de la cirugía abdominal.

While Kate Middleton and the royal family dig out from the Mother's Day pic scandal, the company that helped them pull it off is popping bottles -- 'cause Photoshop's suddenly hot on Wall Street.

Despite the Princess of Wales -- or someone at the palace -- having sketchy photo editing skills, Photoshop's parent company, Adobe, saw a spike in its stock price after Monday's trading ... affirming the old adage of any publicity's good publicity.

Here's the breakdown ... Adobe (ADBE) went from $551.69 on Friday, did a little Monday morning stretch to $552.45, and by the end of the day, they were ridin' high at $560.42. The numbers don't lie!

Business writer Trung Phan immediately put the company's $3B market cap to Princess Kate's claim she'd used Adobe's product.

Of course, it's unclear if the Kate saga really is behind the fluctuation -- but the whole thing is a bit of a coincidence.

It also seems like everyone's getting a kick out of imagining Kate as just another regular Joe, clicking away on Photoshop like the rest of us mere mortals.

One person joked on X, "I like the idea that kate middleton got a royal discount on adobe creative cloud and started poking around in Photoshop," ... and another added, "The Palace now upgrading to the full Adobe suite to fix the Kate Middleton pic."

Nonetheless, while a whole set of conspiracy theories are floating about why the royals doctored the pic ... KM's official Kensington Palace statement claims she just did a crappy job using Photoshop to improve her Mother's Day snap with her 3 kiddos.

Her apparent falling on the sword doesn't explain why the Palace lied, in the first place, about when the photo was taken -- nor does it shed any light on what's really going on with Kate's now 2-month-long recovery from abdominal surgery.

Mientras Kate Middleton sigue lidiando con las consecuencias del escándalo de su foto, el príncipe Guillermo está actuando como un miembro Real y haciendo cosas Reales.

El Príncipe de Gales estuvo en Frameless London el lunes, una atracción turística de experiencias multisensoriales con un montón de exposiciones de arte, donde se codeó con participantes del llamado Earthshot Prize Launchpad, una iniciativa sobre el cambio climático.

El Príncipe Guillermo habló durante el evento y conversó con los ecologistas. Las fotos de su salida fueron publicadas en la cuenta oficial que él y Kate tienen en redes sociales.

El problema es que todo el mundo solo está pensando en una cosa en lo que respecta a William y Kate, y es en la foto editada que publicaron el fin de semana, que luego se reveló que estaba alterada, algo por lo que la misma Kate asumió la responsabilidad.

Hay una nueva ola de teorías conspirativas en las redes sociales, y a pesar del frenesí sobre su paradero y condición, Bill está aquí como si nada hubiera pasado.

Incluso antes de este evento climático, William apareció para un servicio de la Commonwealth junto a la reina Camilla y allí también parecía que todo andaba bien.

Mientras William llegaba a este último evento, él y Kate fueron fotografiados en el carro en dirección a Windsor, pero Kate estaba de lado, mirando por la ventana.

Por supuesto, después de que admitiera que editó su foto del Día de la Madre, hay más especulación e intriga que nunca luego de que desapareciera del ojo público desde hace meses y provocara la preocupación sobre su estado de salud.

El Palacio de Kensington se ha negado a hacer más comentarios sobre lo que alteró exactamente Kate de la foto y cómo, pero mucha gente ha hecho conjeturas sobre ello.

As Kate Middleton continues to deal with the fallout from her photo scandal -- Prince William is just ... well, being a Royal and doing Royal things.

The Prince of Wales was out and about Monday at Frameless London -- a multi-sensory experience tourist attraction with a bunch of cool art exhibitions -- where he was hobnobbing with folks for something called Earthshot Prize Launchpad ... a climate change initiative.

PW spoke during the event ... and he was seen chopping it up with environmentalists. Photos of his outing here were posted to his and Kate's official Royal social media account too.

The problem ... everybody around the world is only focused on one thing as it pertains to William and Kate -- and that would be this edited photo they posted over the weekend, which has now been revealed to be altered ... something Kate herself took the blame for.

There's a fresh round of conspiracy theories all over social media ... and despite this frenzy over her whereabouts and condition, Bill's out here just carrying on like nothing's happening.

Even before his climate event, William showed up for a Commonwealth service alongside Queen Camilla -- and there, too, he looked like nothing was amiss ... just business as usual.

As William was arriving at the latter event ... he and Kate were actually snapped in the car heading on over from Windsor, but Kate was turned to the side -- looking out a window.

Of course, with her admitting that she edited her Mother's Day photo ... there's more speculation and intrigue than ever before ... this after she's been out of the public eye for months now, with mounting concern over her well-being.

Kensington Palace has refused to comment further on what exactly Kate altered in the picture, and how -- but a lot of people have taken educated guesses on what she did.

Kate Middleton's Mother's Day photo appears to be littered with Photoshop edits -- and upon closer inspection ... we think we've pinpointed all the major ones, and they're noticeable.

The Princess of Wales has already copped to altering the picture seen round-the-world -- but neither she nor Kensington Palace have clarified what exactly was doctored and how. According to Sky News ... metadata for the original photo -- which they seem to have obtained -- shows the picture was taken at their Adelaide Cottage home in Windsor.

They also report that the metadata shows it was taken with a DSLR camera ... and more importantly, it was apparently saved twice in Photoshop on an Apple MacBook -- once on Friday night and again on Saturday morning before it was released to the public by the Palace.

Remember, when it first went up on social media -- Prince William was credited as the photog -- and they said this snap was taken last week sometime ahead of Mother's Day.

Now, though, in light of the photo being reported to be manipulated -- and Kate falling on the sword as the one to blame -- everyone is picking this photo apart and analyzing it to see exactly how it may have been tweaked ... and we actually have some ideas of our own.

Take a look at what graphic designers in our own building say are apparent Photoshop edits ... or more accurately, Photoshop fails. The big red flag everyone has been pointing out is Princess Charlotte's hand overlapping with Kate's left hand ... where you see a blur.

Our own experts say this seems to be a bad use of the stamp tool in Photoshop ... that, or a possible flub in duplicating layers of two different images and not lining them up correctly.

In terms of Kate missing her wedding ring -- we know magazines are notorious for editing stuff like that, including copying/pasting body parts ... and our team here says that may well have been what happened with Kate's hand here. Basically, that whole section looks edited.

There's also the issue of Prince Louie's sweater pattern not lining up -- something our team noticed -- and Kate's jacket zipper seemingly disappearing and reappearing in the shot.

Even Kate and Charlotte's awkwardly overlapping appears to be a Photoshop mistake ... that's our own team's take anyway. It's just a handful of apparent mistakes we honed in on -- but there are certainly more others have picked up on ... and the conspiracies are flying.

Some are suggesting that Kate's face here is actually cropped from a Vogue cover -- but according to our graphic designers ... that doesn't seem likely since the lighting is all off.

The Palace isn't explaining itself here ... at least not fully. We've reached out to them for further explanation on what exactly was changed here -- but haven't heard back yet.

There's more intrigue ... with a new photo of Kate riding with Prince William as they drove to a private appointment -- and here, too, she's heavily obscured ... shying away from cameras.

It's the latest shot paps have gotten of her outside of Windsor ... but it's hard to really see her.

At this point ... people are calling for Kate to just come out and address the public -- because anything short of that won't appease everyone's curiosity or suspicions. With the fake photo being put out ... it's quite clear that Kensington Palace was okay with trying to pull a fast one -- or at the very least, wanted to make her seem like she's doing better than she is.

One last thing ... a lot of people have suggested AI is afoot in this Mother's Day pic -- but we talked to AI expert Paul Dawes -- CEO of More.Ai -- and he tells TMZ ... this photo appears to be more Photoshopped than AI-generated ... although it's possible it could be.

Dawes says an AI tool may have been used to edit real photos -- but this image does appear to be thrown together with actual photographs of real people ... that's his take.

Ditto for AI expert Mike Gioia of Pickaxe, who says this picture is likely more Photoshopped than tinkered with AI. He tells us the teeth, hands and eyes all seem fairly normal (or human) ... and he would know, as those are telltale signs of whether AI created it, or if it's the real McCoy. In this case, he says he thinks these features look more authentic than not.

Gioia does say this might've been created with the help of something in Photoshop these days called Generative Fill ... which uses AI to pop in generic images. It's just hard to tell.

Bottom line ... this is a bad Photoshop job -- but the question remains ... WHY??? Kensington Palace has been tight-lipped ... and they're letting Kate herself take the heat.

Kate Middleton is falling on the sword over a photo Kensington Palace released that supposedly shows her with her kids post-surgery ... and even now, folks ain't buying it.

A message on behalf of the Princess of Wales was posted to X Monday morning, which explicitly places the blame over the photoshopped pic at her feet. It reads, "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 adds, "I hope everyone celebrating had a very happy Mother’s Day. C" That final "C," BTW is meant to stand for Catherine ... so this is her taking responsibility, officially.

What's weird, of course, is that in the original upload ... Kensington Palace credited her husband, Prince William, with taking the photo -- and yet, Kate herself says this is on her.

Of course ... with all the twists and turns in this "Where Is Kate?" saga -- which has been dragging on for weeks now -- hardly anybody is believing this is actually Kate Middleton owning up to it. Most everyone assumes it's just Kensington Palace publishing some statement on her behalf. Can't blame them, considering this was truly misleading.

As we reported ... the Mother's Day photo in question was yanked by news agencies all over the world -- with these reputable outlets saying the image appeared to be manipulated.

A closer look at the photo shows some strange features, including what appear to be photoshopped elements near Princess Charlotte's left hand, and even Prince Louie's fingers appear to have a warped appearance. As it turns out -- the picture was in fact doctored.

This all follows weeks of nonstop speculation about Kate's whereabouts/condition -- as she's been out of the public eye for several weeks now following a mysterious abdominal surgery. Even when she surfaced for the first time a couple weeks ago, people still didn't think it was really her.

Most of the innuendo is joke-y in nature, and yet ... every time the Palace has tried to put out the fire ... it's backfired in their faces, and this latest move is a complete blunder.

The only thing that'll calm everyone's nerves now is a straight-up video where we see her.

A photo of Kate Middleton and her kids sent around by Kensington Palace Sunday to celebrate Mother's Day in the U.K. is now being accused of possibly being fake.

Multiple photo and new agencies -- like the Associated Press, Getty Images, etc. -- have yanked the picture in question, and AP even handed down a kill notification to journos worldwide ... letting them know they have reason to believe this photo may be manipulated.

Part of that message read ... "At closer inspection, it appears that the source has manipulated the image. No replacement image will be sent. Please remove it from all platforms, including social, where it may still be visible."

The hesitation follows a wave of skeptics online and elsewhere, who suggested the pic looked sorta AI-generated ... and did not at all seem authentic -- this despite the fact palace officials insisted it had been taken by Prince William himself at their cottage in Windsor.

On paper, this has been presented as the real McCoy -- but reputable news outlets are now distancing themselves and refusing to circulate it ... casting serious doubt on its legitimacy.

As of now, Royal officials have yet to comment on this, even to reporters across the pond ... and the photo is still on the Prince and Princess of Wales' official social media accounts.

If true, obviously it's scandalous ... and will only add fuel to the fire over Kate's condition as she continues to recover from abdominal surgery earlier this year ... which has sidelined her for a while. Photos of her that surfaced last week were also called into question.

Kensington Palace has attempted to tamp down rumors and speculation about all this -- but the Internet has been having a field day with memes, jokes and gossip regardless. This latest apparent Snafu ain't gonna help ... if anything, it'll kickstart a fresh wave of inuendo.