| The Scotsman, along with most other newspapers across the country, carried a picture of a smiling Princess of Wales and her children on our front page today. The first image of the Princess since she underwent surgery, it was naturally lapped up after it was released by Kensington Palace yesterday. But if the strategy was to combat social media speculation about Kate's absence in public, it has spectacularly backfired. First, the picture was withdrawn with a “Kill” notice by international picture agencies last night because of suspicions it had been "manipulated". Inconsistencies had been noted in several parts of the picture, from Charlotte's disappearing sleeve to the pattern on Louis' jumper. The Press Association followed suit on Monday morning because they said they had received no explanation from the Palace. Then came the statement from the Princess of Wales amid mounting pressure “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. “I hope everyone celebrating had a very happy Mother’s Day. C.” Why does this all matter? After all who hasn't edited their own family pictures before posting on social media to ensure they are presented in the best possible light? The answer taps into a story of our time. With ever-more powerful AI technology, photos can now be manipulated convincingly at the touch of a smartphone screen. How do we know what to trust as genuine and dismiss what has been digitally created? In journalism, the source is all important, and the Royal family was pretty close to the most trusted source of all. We hope the embarrassment of this episode will ensure it becomes so again. Martyn McLaughlin gets into it with analysis available to subscribers at scotsman.com here Have a great evening Alan | 
