Mashable: The image has been the talk of the town.

Photographs are documents that hold a slice of history. From the harrowing image of the Burning Monk in Vietnam (1963) to the pulse-stopping picture of The Falling Man in New York (2001), images shape crucial social, political, and environmental narratives. However, when photographs cease to portray the truth, it can lead to more mayhem. Case in point: the recent fiasco with Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales' Mother's Day photos.

If you haven't been following the royals, let us sum up the situation for you. Middleton has been away from the limelight since Christmas, with the reason being her "abdominal surgery." However, with wild conspiracy theories floating on the internet, the palace and its internal PR have been working around the clock to prove that Middleton is okay. The first image of her surfaced a few weeks ago, where she was sitting in a car with her sister. And, on March 10, another picture (one with the princess and her three kids) has garnered attention. Why? The seemingly innocent photograph was heavily altered, with netizens finding as many as 16 errors.

You missed one. pic.twitter.com/IQhFyo6Weq — Lee (@LeeCraddock12) March 11, 2024
Well well, someone needs a photoshop lesson. pic.twitter.com/485qzm4x7h — Lily (@Lilyoflight1234) March 13, 2024
Comparing the PFP of Kate Middleton’s account with the weird AI generated one and you can even see her smile is totally different. Teeth are longer, you can see more on the sides etc. They Royal Family is hiding something!!!! pic.twitter.com/TIxLQxkmwj — LauraDreaming ☻ (@LauraDreaming) March 11, 2024
Soon after the picture was released, news agencies such as Reuters, Getty, The Associated Press, and Agence France-Presse pulled the photograph down. The AP has even gone so far as to issue a rare order called “photo kill,” which means users will be asked to delete the picture from their systems and archives due to manipulation. While the Princess of Wales has apologized for "occasionally experimenting with editing," this entire incident sheds light on the dire situation presented by technology.

For starters, photographs, especially highly manipulated ones, raise concerns about authenticity when dealing with real-world events. This not only impacts the veracity of the news and the credibility of the publication but also leads to disinformation, misinformation, and the spread of fake news. In a time when we are battling the latter three issues so often, a photograph of this nature only reminds us how technology can be used for more harm than good.

This incident further reveals the significance of guidelines such as the Content Authenticity Initiative (CAI) by Adobe. Established in 2019, the committee of 2,500 leading media and technology companies is constantly working to establish an open technical standard around photos.

The open standard was created by the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA), a group consisting of Adobe, Microsoft, the BBC, and others under the Linux Foundation. It aims to advance open technology development and widespread commercial use. The C2PA standard has quickly become a leading solution in digital provenance.

C2PA introduced Content Credentials, akin to a "nutrition label" for digital content. By clicking on the "cr" logo near an image, viewers can easily see its source. Credentialing protocols are now being integrated into hardware devices like cameras and smartphones. This enables future viewers to accurately know the date, time, and location of a photo when it was taken. Similar technology is already present in editing software like Photoshop, which logs and allows inspection of any changes made to a file.

If this technology were used by wired services, perhaps they could have avoided this debacle. At the same time, the incident also proves that the royal family is losing its grip on the ironclad perception they built of themselves using images. In an era where every pixel is scrutinized and dissected on social media, it's high time we demand accountability from our content and question its authenticity. After all, in a world where truth is increasingly elusive, the power of a single photograph can't be compromised.