Princess Märtha Louise of Norway AI image incident

Princess Märtha Louise of Norway recently addressed a disinformation campaign involving AI-generated imagery that falsely suggested she was pregnant. The manipulated photos, which appeared on social media, depicted the princess with a baby bump and included images of her and her husband, American shaman Durek Verrett, holding a sonogram. The royal family and her management team confirmed these claims were entirely fabricated.

What happened

The incident involved the dissemination of deepfake images across two Facebook pages, one operating in Norwegian and the other in German. These posts triggered widespread rumors regarding the princess's health and personal life. Upon becoming aware of the content, the princess’s manager, Carina Scheele Carlsen, issued a formal statement clarifying that the images were manipulated and that the claims were false. The situation was treated as a serious matter, with the royal office following up on the breach. Meta eventually removed both Facebook accounts after determining they violated platform guidelines regarding coordinated inauthentic behavior. This event follows a similar AI-driven attack on the Norwegian royal family in June, which featured fabricated images of Crown Princess Mette-Marit in a hospital setting.