Multiple posts on Facebook which falsely claim that the late Diana, Princess of Wales is still alive in 2024 use a historic photograph which has been digitally altered to make her look older.

The posts share the image of Diana, Princess of Wales standing in front of a bank of microphones and reading from a sheet of paper. There is also a caption which reads: “BREAKING NEWS LADY DIANA HAS RETURNED AND HAS CONFIRMED THAT SHE IS ALIVE THIS IS A PHOTO OF HER FROM TODAY TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2024.”

The Princess died following a car crash in Paris on 31 August 1997. Her death and that of Dodi Fayed was attributed to the reckless driving of both their chauffeur, Henri Paul, who was ruled to be drunk at the time and also died in the crash, and of paparazzi dangerously tailing her limousine.

Altered and manipulated videos and images can cause misinformation to spread widely online. It’s important to consider whether something is genuine before sharing. Our guides to spotting misleading and AI-generated images and videos can help you to do this.

The original, unedited version of the image used in the posts dates back to January 1997. It was one of a number taken when the princess visited Angola to raise awareness about landmines.

The death of Princess Diana has been the subject of a large number of conspiracy theories including claims that she was deliberately killed by the British security service or that she was pregnant at the time of her death.

Such theories became so widespread that in 2004, London’s Metropolitan Police Service launched an investigation into them under the name Operation Paget. A 871-page report, published three years later, found there was no validity to any of the conspiracy theories surrounding the death of Princess Diana.

Image courtesy of the Provincial Archives of Alberta