The Royal Treatment
#WhereIsKate conspiracy theories have overtaken the Internet. Here’s what our current fascination says about our current media ecosystem.
Every woman I know has a theory about Kate Middleton. Especially women over 35. Women have been paying attention ever since the announcement of her “planned abdominal surgery” and how said operation would take Middleton out of commission for several weeks.
Middleton’s health became a frequent topic of conversation among women in my life. I think because once cis women hit a certain age, you or someone you know has had at least one reproductive health concern, and when you hear the phrase abdominal surgery, your mind immediately starts listing all of the things it could be.
I had some of those same thoughts, but there’s also a professional interest. I’ve followed conspiracies, disinformation, and the targeted harassment of Middleton’s estranged sister-in-law, Meghan Markle, for years. Markle has arguably been targeted with more abuse and harassment than any other celebrity, and the same press team that handles Kate Middleton’s communications was unable and uninterested in offering Markle much help before she and Harry left for California. Anyone vaguely familiar with what Markle and her husband deal with, or who follows pop culture news at all, could have told you that conspiracies about Kate Middleton’s whereabouts were inevitable. That every statement and photograph would be scrutinized by Royal fans (and haters). Initially, I was curious to see how it all shook out.
However, the discourse around Kate Middleton has become much darker. Post-altered photo, it’s clear that the problem goes beyond staff who aren’t up to the task. The problem is with the principals, Kate and William. There’s clearly more to the story, and either Middleton doesn’t want more details shared, or she believes the truth will cause even more harm than the bungled attempts to keep the press and public from finding it out. The conspiracies and speculation aren’t going to stop until they come clean. Surely, her team realizes this by now. Unclear if their principals have grasped it yet.
I’m not going to go through the now-exhaustive timeline of how #WhereIsKate morphed from idle curiosity about the British Royal family to become the news story that will not die. (Though if you need/want that I highly recommend the timeline that journalist Ellie Hall put together over at Nieman Labs.) But I do think the major beats of this particular news cycle are worth looking at.
Here are the Five Stages of #WhereIsKate:
Curiosity: The public learns the news about Kate Middleton’s operation. Speculation begins about what “abdominal surgery” Middleton is having that would take her out of commission for several months.
Mockery: Kate Middleton’s press team is so bad! They should have known conspiracy theories would spring up and have planned better for this. Who is running the show over there anyway?
Genuine concern: OK but is Kate alright? And what’s going on in her marriage? Did William do something sinister? Clearly, Kate’s press team isn’t being truthful and keeping her out of sight. What is going on over there?
WTF: The doctored image, supposedly of Middleton and her children as photographed by her husband, becomes the doctored photo seen around the world. We are all online sleuths now, and we will get to the bottom of this!
Critical Mass: Straight men discover Kate Middleton conspiracy theories. They’re all in and they aren’t being coy about it. Even Stephen Colbert weighs in, naming and making jokes about a woman that William is supposedly having an affair with. #WhereIsKate has become #KateGate, and it’s open season speculating on the Royal Family.
It would be easy to dismiss this as pure silliness. As an American, I’ve always viewed the Monarchy as taxpayer-funded celebrities who occasionally entertain me by wearing whimsical hats. But the Monarchy is an institution of the UK government; Middleton’s father-in-law is the head of state, and she and her husband are quasi-government officials. In Western Democracies, people generally expect more transparency from government institutions, and they don’t appreciate anything that hints at a coverup or an attempt to deceive the public. Put your best foot forward sure, but don’t Photoshop someone else’s foot in place of your own.
There’s also the relationship that the Royals have with the British tabloid press, one that’s seen increased scrutiny since Middleton’s brother-in-law Harry published his memoir Spare and wrote that exposing the toxic relationship and reforming the media was his “life’s mission.” For all the media coverage of Spare, Harry’s allegations of how his family’s staff worked with the British tabloid media, using him and then him and his wife to garner more favorable coverage for more senior royals, was hardly covered. That strategy never stopped, and even this week, Meghan and Harry have been falsely accused of doctoring a photo, causing the photographer to defend his work online.
#WhereIsKate has everything in the online toxicity playbook: altered photographs, conspiracy theories, extremely online fans and haters, government institutions, and gossip. (I did not have Bellingcat Founder and Editor Elliot Higgins debunking Kate Middleton Photo theories or the Kensington Palace press team being compared to North Korea on my 2024 bingo card, but both of those things happened.) It’s a perfect storm.
This is where I remind folks that the term disinformation doesn’t feel adequate anymore. However, a lot of experts are projecting their own perspective onto the story, something I was initially guilty of myself. Just as women all seem to have a Kate Middleton theory, disinformation researchers, marketers, and journalists all seem to have a theory about what this means or what it says about our media ecosystem. I’m not sure any of us have it right yet.
It actually reminds me of #FreeBritney. Conspiracies about Britney Spears’ health and well-being existed online for months and were mostly dismissed by legacy media. #FreeBritney folks were deemed crazy conspiracy theorists until Spears broke her silence and told her her truth in court. Then, her concerned fans were hailed as activists. Middleton obviously hasn’t said a word (beyond supposedly apologizing for the doctored photo mess). I won’t speculate about her health or private life except to say that there’s clearly more to this story. And the only way the public will know for sure what’s really going on is if Kate Middleton, like Britney and Diana before her, decides to tell the public her true story.
Since this is outside of what I normally write about I wanted to share a few of the sources that informed my thinking where you can learn more. I recommend Spare, which is both a memoir and a case study on life in the Royal Family and the role press and communications play in that existence. I also regularly read Lainey Gossip, a gossip blog that has long covered the institutional communications strategy. Finally, here are some knowledgeable journalists to follow on social media: Omid Scobie, Ellie Hall, Afua Hagan, and Peter Hunt.
ICYMI
The Gravitational Force of Tech Money (Dave Karpf)
Dave’s newsletter is one of my favorites, and I love the analogy of gravity to explain the impact that billionaires have on tech and, by extension, all of our lives.
It seems like a colossal failure of sports journalism that Aaron Rodgers has been a Sandy Hook truther since 2013, told at least one reporter, and we’re only learning about this now.
He Didn’t Deny Being A White Supremacist. Then He Was Elected To City Council. (Huffington Post)
An incredible deep dive into a recall effort targeting an elected official who is a known white supremacist.
AI Isn’t Our Election Safety Problem, Disinformation Is (Time Magazine)
A timely explainer, co-authored by Justin Hendrix who has guest edited CARD in the past. If you’re worried about generative AI, you’re worried about disinformation. The problem hasn’t gone away and AI is just the latest tool in the toolbox.
Coda
I talked to Columbia Journalism Review’s Cameron Joseph about the TikTok bill and why it’s a bad idea for Democrats to vote for it.
Melissa Ryan works on combating extremism and disinformation online and said that she understands the legitimate concerns many lawmakers have about China gaining access to Americans’ data—though she added that the disinformation on TikTok is no more pervasive than on other social media platforms.
But as a former Democratic digital strategist who worked for President Obama’s 2012 reelection and the pro-abortion-rights group EMILY’s List, Ryan said it was obvious what Democratic candidates should do.
“I would absolutely tell my candidates they need to be on TikTok, particularly if they need younger voters like Biden does. And I would be ready to explain the fallout from casting that vote [in the House],” she said.
That’s all for this week. Next Sunday I have something special planned that I think you’re going to enjoy. Stay tuned!
I feel like this is something I really shouldn't care about, but I care so very very little I should actually probably care a little bit more.