Following the controversy regarding Kate Middleton’s edited photo, Eric Baradat emphasized the need for news agencies, in the context of the proliferation of fake news on social media.
Last Sunday, several news agencies decided to remove from their services the Princess of Wales’ first official photo in several months because it was found to be edited. The decision, which took the public by surprise, is proof of the importance of these media in the fight against misinformation and “telling and showing the truth, even when we do not like it”.
“I believe that news agencies are at the forefront of the fight against disinformation and fake news.”, said Eric Baradat, Deputy News Director of AFP, to Somos Télam.
“Disinformation and fake news create bias in our modern societies, they are used to propel the ideas and concepts of some to take advantage on the public opinion”, he added, and explained that shortly after receiving the image of Kate Middleton with her children, the agency photo editors realized it had been edited.
“I believe that news agencies are at the forefront of the fight against disinformation and fake news”.
Eric Baradat
Baradat said that, in that moment, they got in touch with other agencies, who had also detected problems with the photo, and asked Kensington Palace for an explanation on the picture that had been published on the occasion of Mother’s Day, which was celebrated in the United Kingdom on March 10. Since they received no official answer, they decided to remove the photo from their services.
AP was another news agency that took part in that collective decision. “A close study of the image revealed inconsistencies that suggested it had been altered, for instance in the alignment of Princess Charlotte’s left hand with the sleeve of her sweater”, the American agency explained in an article.
“AP’s editorial standards state that images must be accurate. AP does not use altered or digitally manipulated images.”, they added.
Kate Middleton’s photo had a huge impact because it was the first official image of the Princess since her operation last January. The image has been published by many media, both in the UK and the world, since the Princess has been kept out of the public eye and details of her health issue remain a secret.
The scandal concerning the manipulation of her photo forced the Princess to apologize on social media. “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”, Kate wrote on X.
Baradat underlined the role of news agencies in this context: “We have a duty of telling and showing the truth, even when we do not like it, so that the public can get an honest reference and do not fall in the traps of propaganda”.
AFP’s Deputy News Director explained that they had to make similar decisions in the past, pulling photos from North Korea and Iran out of circulation, and he underlined that news agencies must be “the place where people go when they want an unbiased opinion on events.”.
“This is vital for democracy and a free society”, he concluded.