A Royal photo has shown our unhealthy relationship with conspiracies

The first official photo of the Princess of Wales since her abdominal surgery has been released. It shows Kate smiling while surrounded by her three children, alongside a message from the royal thanking well-wishers for their support. 

Within hours of its release, several global news agencies announced they were pulling the image because it had been doctored. To what extent, we’re not sure, but if the recent conspiracy theories about Kate’s wellbeing are anything to go by, this latest development will only add to the wild rumours being thrown around. 

But why are people so ready to engage in conspiracies? How has that changed over the years? And just how significant is this move by agencies like Reuters, AP and Getty? 

On today’s afternoon episode of The Briefing, we discuss these issues with Axel Bruns, a Professor for the Digital Media Research Centre at Queensland University of Technology. 

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