This is a research prototype. The data and analyses are preliminary and not yet validated — we'd welcome your .
A fake, AI-generated Christmas card featuring the children of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex went viral on social media. The image, which was widely identified as a digital forgery due to poor editing, was presented as an authentic holiday greeting. The incident sparked public outrage and discussions regarding the misuse of AI to create misleading content involving public figures and their children.
An AI-generated Christmas card reportedly depicting Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, was shared on social media as if it were authentic. The image is reported to have been created using older public photos and flawed AI editing.
Domain classification, causal taxonomy, severity scores, and national security assessments were LLM-classified and may contain errors.
AI systems that inadvertently generate or spread incorrect or deceptive information, which can lead to inaccurate beliefs in users and undermine their autonomy. Humans that make decisions based on false beliefs can experience physical, emotional or material harms
Also classified as
The creator used AI to impersonate the royal children and fabricate an official family greeting card, exploiting their likenesses.
The incident involved the creation and viral spread of a fabricated Christmas card containing AI-generated fake images of real children, misleading some social media users.
Human
Due to a decision or action made by humans
Intentional
Due to an expected outcome from pursuing a goal
Post-deployment
Occurring after the AI model has been trained and deployed
The incident was initiated by a human user who intentionally generated and posted a fake Christmas card using a deployed AI tool.
Added categories peak at 3: Substantial (Epistemic Harm, Inferred)
An AI-generated fake Christmas card of Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet went viral on social media, causing public outrage over privacy and digital forgery. The incident represents a minor celebrity-focused deepfake with negligible national security implications.
The reports describe the AI system being used by a royal fan or troll to generate or edit a fake Christmas card, acting as a tool to perform a specific image generation function based on direct human input.
Limited Risk: The incident involves an AI-generated deepfake image of public figures' children, which falls under the category of AI-generated content requiring transparency obligations.
The AI system was used to generate a synthetic, fake image of real individuals (the royal children) to look like an authentic photograph.
The reports consistently describe the viral fake Christmas card, the public reaction on X, and the details of the image's flaws. There is high agreement across sources that the image was a digital forgery.
Some users suggested the card was created by fans, while others claimed it was created by trolls to mock the family.
Technology
AI Generation Limitations
AI tools struggle to render realistic hands, feet, and proportional eyes.
Sloppy Digital Editing
Errors like warped floor tiles and distorted clothes showed poor rendering.
Data Inputs
Lack of Current Training Data
No current public photos of children's faces existed for the model.
Use of Outdated Public Photos
Older public photos of the kids were edited to construct the fake portrait.
Human Factors
Malicious or Troll Intent
A royal fan or troll created the fake image to deceive or gain attention.
User Confirmation Bias
Some social media users believed the fake image due to confirmation bias.
Public Curiosity About Kids
The parents' decision to hide faces fueled public desire for images.
Process and Methods
Viral Sharing Mechanisms
X platform algorithms allowed unverified fake content to go viral quickly.
Lack of Pre-Publishing Checks
No screening process existed to block AI deepfakes before publication.
Management
Inadequate Platform Moderation
X failed to quickly detect and label the AI-generated fake image.
Reactive Moderation Policies
Platform relied on users requesting Community Notes rather than prevention.
Regulatory Environment
Weak Deepfake Regulations
Lack of legal frameworks to govern AI-generated deepfakes of minors.
AI system involved
An AI system was involved, but the reports do not identify it.
Identified by automated extraction; can differ from the alleged developers above.
