11 February 2024 , 10:33
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A fake book about the King's cancer diagnosis has sparked a legal tussle at Buckingham Palace where lawyers will be "looking closely" at the AI-penned tome.
Last night there were seven fraudulent biographies being sold on Amazon purporting to have insider knowledge of King Charles and his battle with cancer. The books appeared beside some of the site's best-selling legitimate royal commentaries. They now appear to be removed.
The Palace has now reportedly blasted the computer-generated books, calling them "intrusive and insensitive" while adding that their lawyers will be launching an investigation into the sales. Though they breach Amazon's guidelines, they are all available, with the tech giant scooping as much as 65 per cent of all profits.
Among the brazen lies written by artificial intelligence are vivid descriptions of the moment the King learned he had cancer. One books says he felt "fear, anger, and despair" when medics told him of his condition. Others detailed an operation in which Charles had a tumour removed, and the "fatigue" he suffered after chemotherapy.
The books have been taken off the online retail giant's platform (Getty Images)They also quote a royal insider saying that Charles had prostate cancer which had a "moderate risk" of spreading through his body, and that he was hospitalised by an "unexplained accident" a few months into his reign, reports the Mail on Sunday.
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Buckingham Palace said last night: "Any such titles speculating about His Majesty's diagnosis and treatment are intrusive, insensitive and filled with inaccuracies. Our legal team will be looking at the issue closely. We call on any individuals or organisations facilitating their sale to withdraw them immediately."
Today, the AI books had been withdrawn from sale. The authors of the books are unknown, and they were all uploaded through Amazon's own self-publishing platform.
A number of royal experts - some of whom are friends of the King - came out to slam the tech giant's failures. Lord Michael Dobbs, who shares a birthday with the monarch, said: "This intrusion on the King's privacy when he is sick and suffering shows just how low some will stoop. Why is this rubbish still on sale? Amazon is a great firm, it can - and must - do better than this."
Royal commenter Hugo Vickers waded in, saying that the news will be "upsetting" for the royals and that Amazon should label the AI-generated works to help consumers differentiate between "irresponsible publications" and "well-researched, legitimate works".
Within hours of news of King Charles being diagnosed with an unknown form of cancer, the books had popped up across Amazon, masquerading as legitimate biographies. And despite the lack of research, the books charged as much as their verified equivalents, ranging from £6.99 for a e-book to £15.99 for a paperback.