“KateGate” and the Erosion of Trust

A glimpse of our A.I.-generated future

Image: Badly edited by author

I’m going to start with a disclaimer: I don’t give two shits about the Monarchy and the Royal Family. If I had the choice, I’d move to abolish it and put those deeply unhappy individuals trapped inside it out of their misery.

I also never assumed I would write a single word on the subject. But this week’s “Kate Middleton saga” — has anyone claimed KateGate yet? — has transcended politics and royalty and entered the tech sphere.

After announcing a “planned abdominal surgery,” Middleton has been absent from public view. Without any real information, the internet has turned to doing what it does best — inventing its own. Some believe she’s dead. Some believe she ran away. Others think she is trapped inside the now infamous Willy Wonka experience. As the Monarchy is all about public image, the head honchos sensed the time was right to release a picture proving Middleton is all good and well. A nice Mother’s Day family snap would calm the situation, right?

Holy crown-wearing shit, did it backfire spectacularly.