Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
FAKE IMAGES OF Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor have circulated online since the former British prince was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office.
Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested on 19 February after emails released by the US Department of Justice appeared to show him sharing sensitive information with Jeffrey Epstein while serving as a trade envoy for the UK.
He was released from custody after questioning by Thames Valley Police.
A photo of Mountbatten-Windsor in a car following his release made front pages across the UK the following morning, but some people have posted fake images purporting to show his arrest and its aftermath online.
One image appears to be a mugshot of the former prince, showing him smiling with discoloured teeth. It was posted on Facebook on 20 February.
The caption reads: “Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, 66, seen in a mugshot-after news broke of his arrest in England on suspicion of misconduct in public office. The investigation is ongoing.”
The post has received 654 reactions, more than 2,000 comments and been shared 57 times.
The image is not authentic and has not appeared in any media coverage.
The lighting and colouring make Mountbatten-Windsor appear cartoonish, a common characteristic of AI images, and his teeth are extremely discoloured, which does not match past photos of him.
His tie is also poorly rendered and misshapen.
Other fake images appear to show Mountbatten-Windsor in handcuffs being escorted by uniformed police in public. One of the images has Google’s Gemini AI logo in the bottom right corner.
The images have appeared in media coverage of Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest.
He was not arrested in a public setting though.
Unmarked police cars arrived at the Sandringham House Estate in Norfolk, England to arrest him.
There are no photos of him in handcuffs.
The AI-generated images were posted on Facebook on 20 and 21 February and have received thousands of reactions and comments.
The Journal’s FactCheck is a signatory to the International Fact-Checking Network’s Code of Principles. You can read it here. For information on how FactCheck works, what the verdicts mean, and how you can take part, check out our Reader’s Guide here. You can read about the team of editors and reporters who work on the factchecks here.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
have your say