Did the British king convert to Islam? Royal family rattled by foreign disinformation

The British royal family has been shaken by a wave of foreign disinformation, with King Charles III and former Prime Minister Keir Starmer among those targeted.

The Times of London reported that Buckingham Palace is concerned about fabricated content targeting King Charles III and Prince William, among others.

Ahead of Charles' state visit to the United States in April, thousands of posts appeared on MAGA-style social media accounts falsely claiming the king had secretly converted to Islam. Among the fabricated content was a manipulated image appearing to show Charles and then-Prime Minister Starmer kneeling in prayer in Muslim attire.

Other doctored images depicted Prince William as having a secret daughter beyond his three known children — George, Charlotte and Louis — and showed his children meeting the late Princess Diana, who died long before any of them were born.

According to an analysis by Valant, an AI firm that tracks online manipulation, the disinformation about Charles' alleged conversion first appeared on March 12. It is believed to have originated from "bot farms" operating in Southeast Asia, including Vietnam.

The analysis report also said the messages spread through networks previously used to promote far-right British activist Tommy Robinson and the right-wing Reform UK party.

Valant's CEO said "the pattern is clear and there are deliberate, specific movements at play," pointing to Russia, China and far-right groups as suspects.