The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s staunch followers have replied after a fan used artificial intelligence to make a Christmas card with fake photographs of the royal couple’s children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.
Earlier this month, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle sent out their annual festive thank you as a virtual Christmas card.
The digital offering stated: “On behalf of Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Archewell Productions, and the Archewell Foundation.”
“We wish you a very happy holiday season and a joyful New Year.”
It comprised six images of the couple, most of which were taken during their numerous humanitarian activities.
One image showed Harry and Meghan crouching with their arms outstretched to greet their children, Archie, five, and Lilibet, three, whose faces were obscured.
In the weeks following the distribution of the Christmas card, a putative fan of the Royal couple, who married in 2018, employed artificial intelligence to construct an alternative version.
Their photo depicts a phony black-and-white photograph of the Sussexes’ young children standing arm-in-arm and ‘smiling’ for the camera.
The family beagles Mamma Mia and Guy appeared in the background of the card, which read: “Merry Christmas & Happy New Year from Prince Archie & Princess Lilibet.”
There are also obvious faults in the shot that indicate it is AI-generated, such as warped floor tiles, one of the dogs missing a leg, and ‘Archie’s’ clothes getting distorted.
Another issue is that neither of the children’s hands or feet are visible; one critic commented, “Hidden hands and feet are very strange. AI can’t do hands and feet properly yet.”
It’s believed that the fake artwork was generated on Canva before being posted on social media, creating great indignation.
One fan has now criticized the card as ‘very odd’, while another has asked the internet to ‘take down’ the ‘disgusting’ photograph.
“The kids don’t even look like brother and sister. They look like exactly what they are AI,” said someone else.
Now, loyal supporters of Harry and Meghan, known as the Sussex Squad, have spoken out on the matter.
In a message sent on X, now known as Twitter, a user identified as @theroyaleditor disputed that the Sussex Squad was involved in publishing the digital card.
On Monday (December 30), they said, “No the ‘Sussex Squad’ did not release a fake Christmas Card of Archie & Lilibet.”
In the post’s comments section, one user requested that a Community Note be put to the AI shot.
The community-driven content moderation initiative is intended to add content to misleading posts on X while removing bogus news.
“EXCUSE ME THAT WAS RELEASED BY TROLLS!!!! NOT SUSSEX FANS!!!,” said a second elsewhere.
