The British royal family learns that if you don’t fill an information vacuum, someone else will

A montage of the front pages of some of Britain's Sunday newspapers pictured in London, on Sunday, March 24, 2024. Support has poured in from around the world for Kate, the Princess of Wales, after she revealed in a candid video message that she is undergoing chemotherapy for cancer following major abdominal surgery. — AP

NEW YORK: A media frenzy was born on Feb 27, when the hashtag #WhereIsKate exploded online with speculation about the whereabouts of Britain’s Princess of Wales.

It opened a rabbit hole of amateur detective work, memes, bizarre theories and jokes – mixed with genuine concern about Kate’s health – into which thousands of people descended until her announcement last week that she was recovering from cancer.