Norwegian Princess Märtha Louise and her husband, Durek Verrett, have become the target of fabricated pregnancy rumors and altered artificial intelligence imagery circulating on Facebook. The fraudulent posts claim the couple is expecting their first child together, utilizing artificial intelligence imagery that shows the princess with an enlarged abdomen and posing alongside ultrasound scans.
The deceptive content surfaced primarily on the Facebook pages Aktuelt Puls and Aktuelt Nå, appearing in both Norwegian and German. In the comment sections accompanying the fraudulent posts, users found links directing traffic to unknown foreign websites.
Carina Scheele Carlsen, manager for Princess Märtha Louise, addressed the situation through a statement to the press, confirming that the royal team is treating the breach with utmost seriousness. “We are aware that false claims and manipulated images of Princess Märtha Louise are being spread on social media, and we take this seriously and are following up on it,” she stated via email, noting that she would not provide further comments at this stage.
Media representatives have reached out to Meta for comment regarding the proliferation of the AI imagery, with platform officials stating they require additional time to review the matter.
Precedent in the Norwegian Royal Household
This incident marks the second time within recent months that a senior member of the Norwegian royal household has been exploited using artificial intelligence technology on social media platforms. Back in June, Queen Mette-Marit was targeted by a similar online scam involving a series of fabricated images depicting her lying in a hospital bed.
Princess Märtha Louise, born in 1971, is the elder sister of Crown Prince Haakon. Although she is two years older than her brother, she did not inherit the primary right to the throne due to historical male-preference primogeniture rules that favored male heirs at the time of their birth. The Norwegian parliament amended the constitution in 1990 to establish full gender equality in the line of succession, ensuring that the monarch’s eldest child inherits the crown regardless of gender.
Platform Accountability and Ongoing Oversight
Representatives for Meta continue to evaluate the mechanisms behind the unauthorized pages while royal representatives monitor the situation closely to prevent further unauthorized use of the family’s likeness.
