Overview
- AI-generated images on TikTok, Instagram and Facebook depicted a lavish market staged inside the palace forecourt.
- Visitors who traveled to the site this week reported locked gates, security fencing, scaffolding and puddles instead of stalls.
- The Royal Collection Trust published a disclaimer stating there will not be a Christmas market and directing shoppers to the Royal Mews Christmas Shop open 14 November to 5 January.
- High-follower travel page London.travelers, run by US company Athotel, shared the fake image to about 2.5 million users before removing the post.
- Creators and journalists flagged telltale AI flaws—floating lights, obscured faces and scenes placed behind security gates—and linked the incident to other recent travel hoaxes.