8 months ago
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Just one week ago, social media was all abuzz that Buckingham Palace was about to make some big, terrible announcement, that the BBC had been called in to break the news about something. Then Russian media began amplifying claims that King Charles had died on St. Patrick’s Day. Buckingham Palace was able to shut down the rumor mill within 24 hours – Charles made sure he was photographed a few times and the palace issued some simple statements. The whole thing had the feel of a psyop, but it also felt like it was yet another example of the Windsors inability to control the messaging around Charles and the Princess of Wales’s health. Well, now that Princess Kate has informed everyone about her cancer and chemotherapy, it looks like that has just fueled even more misinformation and disinformation. This, according to the British government:
China, Russia and Iran are fuelling disinformation about the Princess of Wales to destabilise the nation, Whitehall sources believe. Senior Government figures fear that hostile states are behind the spread of wild conspiracy theories and online rumours surrounding the Princess’s health.
After the Princess announced her cancer diagnosis on Friday evening, Rishi Sunak led the condemnation of social media trolls for targeting her online in recent weeks. But his intervention did not deter further frenzied commentary, with a disinformation chief saying on Sunday that the Princess had been “revictimised” by trolls criticising her for not publicly revealing her diagnosis sooner.
On Sunday, it emerged that there was growing concern in Whitehall that hostile state actors could be involved in whipping up the frenzied social media attacks on the Princess. A government source told The Telegraph: “Part of the modus operandi of hostile states is to destabilise things – whether that is undermining the legitimacy of our elections or other institutions.”
It comes as Downing Street is preparing to announce fresh sanctions on China as soon as Monday, after a wave of state-backed cyber attacks against a group of senior MPs and peers.
Multiple things can be true and are true all at once – Russia and China are absolutely behind disinformation campaigns to destabilize Western institutions, and it would not surprise me in the least if the “Charles is dead” situation one week ago was some kind of dry run for a larger Russian disruption this year. There are absolutely foreign governments and anarchistic forces at play here. But I think all of the “misinformation” is being conflated as the work of dark and sinister forces, when some of it is a matter of FAFO. From what I can see, Kensington Palace has their own bot farm too, a bot farm which they use to amplify their message and attack their enemies. Something else happened over the weekend too, which sidles up alongside this conversation: QAnon-types are now questioning everything about the Windsors as a “Deep State crisis actors” and on and on. It feels like some of that (conspiracist nutjobs in the West) is being conflated with “this too is a Russian psyop.” But what do I know.
Photos courtesy of Cover Images, screencaps courtesy of Kensington Palace.
Commonwealth Day Service At Westminster Abbey
Featuring: King Charles III, Camilla, Queen Consort, Prince William, Catherine, Princess of Wales
Where: London, United Kingdom
When: 13 Mar 2023
Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages
**NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
Commonwealth Day Service At Westminster Abbey
Featuring: King Charles III, Camilla, Queen Consort, Prince William, Catherine, Princess of Wales, Prince Edward, Sophie Wessex
Where: London, United Kingdom
When: 13 Mar 2023
Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages
**NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
Commonwealth Day Service At Westminster Abbey
Featuring: King Charles III, Camilla, Queen Consort, Prince William, Catherine, Princess of Wales, Prince Edward, Sophie Wessex
Where: London, United Kingdom
When: 13 Mar 2023
Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages
**NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
Commonwealth Day Service At Westminster Abbey
Featuring: King Charles III, Camilla, Queen Consort, Prince William, Catherine, Princess of Wales, Prince Edward, Sophie Wessex
Where: London, United Kingdom
When: 13 Mar 2023
Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages
**NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
Commonwealth Day Service At Westminster Abbey
Featuring: King Charles III, Camilla, Queen Consort, Prince William, Catherine, Princess of Wales
Where: London, United Kingdom
When: 13 Mar 2023
Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages
**NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
Commonwealth Day Service at Westminster Abbey
Featuring: King Charles III
Where: London, United Kingdom
When: 13 Mar 2023
Credit: Dutch Press Photo/Cover Images
**NOT AVAILABLE FOR PUBLICATION IN THE NETHERLANDS OR FRANCE**
