AI-generated images of a dazzling Christmas market outside Buckingham Palace have fooled tourists into travelling to a festive event that doesn’t exist, The Independent reports.
The images — widely circulated on TikTok, Instagram and Facebook — depicted a grand holiday fair glowing behind the palace gates. Many visitors, believing the pictures to be real, made their way to the royal residence only to discover there was no such market.
One of the accounts that amplified the fake content was london.travelers, run by US-based travel company Athotel, which has around 2.5 million followers. According to Metro, the misleading post has since been removed.
On closer inspection, the images revealed multiple AI inconsistencies: snow-covered stalls placed inside a restricted security zone, elevated platforms that don’t exist, and floating light decorations typical of AI artefacts.
In reality, Buckingham Palace is hosting only a small seasonal shop this year — the Royal Mews Christmas Shop, open from 14 November to 5 January. It sells festive editions of official Royal Collection Trust gifts and offers seasonal drinks and snacks.
Royal Collection Trust clarified in its announcement:
“Please note that the Royal Mews Christmas Shop is a temporary retail space, not a Christmas market. There will be no Christmas market at Buckingham Palace.”