Kate Middleton’s Photoshop didn’t fool anyone

But generative AI might. [Bloomberg]( This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, a badly Photoshopped portrait of Bloomberg Opinion’s opinions. [Sign up here](. Today’s Agenda - [False advertising]( gets worse with AI. - [“I’m just Ken”]( are words to live by. - [Trump leaves migrants]( high and dry. - The [death of skinny jeans]( is nigh? Kate Middleton’s PR Team Is Not It So, I could try to explain how Kate Middleton’s [subpar]( [photo]( [editing]( [skills]( led her to be associated with the viral Willy Wonka fiasco, or I could just show you [these]( [tweets]( and, uh, hopefully you’ll figure it out: Yesterday, the AP [issued]( a “kill notice” on the royal family’s UK Mother’s Day photo over concerns that it was [digitally altered]( in some way. This morning, the Princess of Wales [tweeted](, “Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing. I wanted to express my apologies.” Given the [well-documented speculation]( over her health post-abdominal surgery, the response sparked a frenzy of questions: Is Kate [the marmalade]( on Paddington’s floor? Was Queen [Elizabeth II]( a British Kris Jenner? Will France [be looking]( to invade soon? What if this is [the Irish revenge]( your granny prophesied? And why, oh why didn’t Kensington Palace just post[a video]( of Kate on [Mother’s Day]( to put an end to all the conspiracy theories? While I won’t be able to answer any of those questions, I can tell you that the ongoing obsession with the princess’s whereabouts speaks to the cultural potency of deceptive photos. Whether it’s a badly Photoshopped portrait of some royals or a [misleading ad]( for a chocolate experience, we latch on to stories that don’t quite add up. And with [the rise of AI](, Parmy Olson [says]( consumers are going to need to sharpen their wits even more. “Advertising has always walked a thin line between embellishment and [fabrication](. In the new age of generative artificial intelligence, the latter is becoming easier. Making an online ad no longer requires careful staging of well-lit photographs because now they can be made and enhanced in fantastical ways,” she writes. Read [the whole thing](. Godzilla On My Tippies Mystery solved! I finally know why movie studios have [pumped out](something like 294,578,327,150,823 Godzilla films. It was all leading up to this singular [moment](, when the stars aligned and the footwear gods blessed us with the [wildest awards show shoes]( in the history of red carpets. Only the visual effects crew of the [longest-running]( movie franchise in history deserves to wear shoes [as cool]( as these: But before you go buying a pair to wear on your [wedding day](, Lara Williams [suggests]( you exercise some restraint. Although [Matsui Ryosuke’s]( Godzilla claw heels are more likely to end up in a museum than a landfill, leather shoes are pretty awful for the environment. “Gowns and suits grab the headlines, but accessories and shoes are just as important to the sustainability story,” she writes. This is the second year that the Academy gave attendees a sustainable [style guide]( in the hopes that they would opt for more eco-friendly looks. Sadly, most stars — with the exception of a near-naked [John Cena]( — didn’t adhere to those guidelines. If you’re confused about all this, perhaps that’s because you took F.D. Flam’s [advice]( and slept through the Oscars to fight daylight saving time. Good for you! Here’s a quick rundown from our columnists so you don’t sound like a complete fool at the dinner table tonight: - [Maestro](: “Though it landed an impressive seven nominations, Maestro didn’t win a single award. It joins such head-scratching returns as The Irishman (10 nominations, zero wins), Marriage Story (six nominations, one win), The Trial of the Chicago 7 (six nominations, zero wins), and this year’s May December (which lost its only nomination). All were rapturously reviewed releases from big-name directors, seemingly snubbed or short-shrifted for the one common trait they shared: they were produced as Netflix original films.” — Jason Bailey - [Oppenheimer](: “Cillian Murphy portrays Oppenheimer pretty much as I imagine the man, whom I’ve studied closely. The scientist was ambitious, tortured, brilliant, charismatic, flawed, arrogant, elusive and not infrequently duplicitous ... Yet it is a further frightening curiosity of our times that despite all the movies and books about the Nazis, some 21st century people — including those who [marched]( in their name in Nashville a few weeks ago — seem heedless of the wickedness that Hitler’s people represented.” — Max Hastings - [Barbie](: “[Ryan] Gosling [lost]( — to his fellow Barbie nominee Billie Eilish — just as Ken is emotionally lost in Barbieland. Ken’s identity crisis, born from the lack of a clearly defined purpose, mirrors a narrative that has been unfolding for American working-class men for decades.” — Betsey Stevenson Snubs aside, the Oscars were actually (dare I say it!) … [good]( this year? I found myself [laughing]( one moment and [near tears]( the next. Whatever they put in those surprise [tequila shots]( must have worked. [“Isn’t it past your jail time?”]( Of course, some people didn’t enjoy the Academy Awards. Elon Musk [was disappointed]( with the “woke contest” and former president Donald Trump said the “politically correct show” was “disjointed, boring and very unfair.” Jimmy Kimmel, who managed to mock Trump’s critique mid-monologue, [got the last word](. Trump’s unsuccessful jab was just one of nearly 30 posts shared on his [money-losing]( social media platform yesterday. The other posts — most of them “[ReTruths](” — largely centered around immigration, including this graphic of a [bloody American flag]( that reads, “they’re not migrants, they’re criminals.” Tim O’Brien [expects]( to see Trump double down on his bigoted and racist rants as the November election nears (free read). “Trump married two immigrants, had a mother who was an immigrant, is descended (like most Americans) from immigrants and employs immigrants. But he’s been tapping into a [long and tawdry history of US nativism]( by fearmongering about immigration for some time now,” he writes. Trump’s narrative that “vermin” are holding the US hostage by “poisoning the blood of our country” is one of self-preservation. And if he secures a second term, his vindictive words will be backed by actions that Patricia Lopez [warns]( will revive America’s dark past: “Door-to-door raids, massive deportation camps and screening people based on ideology are just the beginning,” she writes. Conveniently left out of Trump’s [xenophobic pitch]( to voters is the fact that his plans would be dire for the US economy. Bloomberg’s editorial board [notes]( that immigrants “should boost gross domestic product by about 0.2 percentage point per year over the next decade, adding $7 trillion to the economy and contributing an extra $1 trillion in taxes.” And that’s not even mentioning the [cultural]( [rewards]( of immigration. If Trump [has his way]( again, the Oscars will be considerably more disjointed, boring and unfair than they are today. Telltale Charts In case you needed more convincing on the whole immigrants-are-crucial-to-survival argument, here’s Niall Ferguson, [who says]( “we shall likely reach peak humanity this century.” But just because we’re nearing the top doesn’t mean the world is [close to collapse](, as Andreas Kluth explores. According to the [United Nations](, “More than half of the projected increase in the global population between 2022 and 2050 is expected to be concentrated in just eight countries: the Democratic Republic of the Congo [DRC], Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and the United Republic of Tanzania.” If you plan on [going outside]( this week, please make note of what pants people are wearing. If this New York Times[feature]( is right, they should be [bigger than ever](. “Wide-legged bottoms — including the straight, flared, bootcut, barrel, balloon and carrot variations — are rapidly taking market share from tight-fitting ones,” Andrea Felsted [writes](. “Yet with the rise of [super-fast TikTok]( trends, often fused with a sense of nostalgia, interest in slim-fit silhouettes is rising.” Further Reading Don’t mistake Mark Zuckerberg’s [thrill-seeking]( for genius. — Beth Kowitt America’s [TikTok addiction]( isn’t just China’s fault. — Karishma Vaswani JPMorgan is [right to be bullish]( on Latin America. — Juan Pablo Spinetto The [SAT is back, baby](! Thank goodness for that. — Stephen L. Carter An (almost) [inverted yield curve]( is making China nervous. – Shuli Ren We must treat [a slowing China]( differently than a growing one. — Minxin Pei The Houthis are schooling the West in [asymmetric warfare](. — Marc Champion ICYMI Wait, [magic mushrooms]( are for CEOs? Biden plans to go after [capital gains](. Short-volatility bets are back [in a different guise](. The [Jolene remake]( we’ve all been waiting for. India’s [new missiles]( can carry multiple warheads. Kickers Women don’t deserve to get [smaller sushi](. The [prepper community]( has doubled in size. How to become a [stay-at-home boyfriend](. [Juke joints]( are still inspiring Black joy. The best (and worst) [Easter candy eggs](. Notes: Please send [Reese’s mini eggs]( and feedback to Jessica Karl at jkarl9@bloomberg.net. [Sign up here]( and follow us on [Threads](, [TikTok](, [Twitter](, [Instagram]( and [Facebook](. Follow Us Like getting this newsletter? [Subscribe to Bloomberg.com]( for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and subscriber-only insights. Before it’s here, it’s on the Bloomberg Terminal. Find out more about how the Terminal delivers information and analysis that financial professionals can’t find anywhere else. [Learn more](. 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