In English we speak of a “gift that keeps on giving”. A treasure trove that never runs dry. For journalists, social media profiles of politicians and political players are such a treasure trove. Since the end of last year, it has been increasingly worth taking a look at the online channels of the US Embassy in Luxembourg and the Facebook and Instagram accounts of Ambassador Stacey Feinberg. Such a look has caused astonishment more than once. The Shitstorms didn’t take long to arrive.
Now the US embassy and the US ambassador have published a photo from which a person has been digitally erasedbut on which Luxembourg’s head of state and grand duke, the foreign and finance ministers can be seen, as well as Feinberg. It can no longer be seen in the picture distributed in official channels former US ambassador to Luxembourg, Cynthia Stroum. This is how the photo becomes fake: What the US embassy posted here does not correspond to reality. This has always been a no-go and is reminiscent of dark times. In times of fake news, in which we have to question every day whether any film on the Internet is AI or not, the approach is even more worrying. We can only draw one line, and that is: stick to reality. Where else should we draw the line?
It was obvious in the photo in question. Anyone who saw it was struck by it. An exciting image that was poorly edited; It’s lucky, because otherwise it wouldn’t have been noticed.
The whole setting of the posh Metropolitan Club in New York, everyone in tuxedos or elegant dresses. And how they all look! A bit like in the movies. So that you want to look at every detail, zoom in – and then in the background you discover a man who is missing an arm and shoulder. From then on it is clear: something is wrong here, someone has been deleted from the picture. With the help of the Internet, the original picture with the former ambassador was quickly found.
The US Embassy would not tell us why Stroum was removed or who initiated the move. What is known: Stroum fell out of favor at the time and had to resign from her post after little more than a year. During her 14-month tenure from late 2009 to early 2011, several embassy employees apparently requested deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan. Stroum is likely to still be persona non grata at the US Embassy in 2026. Deleting them from a photo that also includes Grand Duke Guillaume, Xavier Bettel and Gilles Roth remains unacceptable. There should be no precedent for such an approach: You can’t throw away all principles for a posting.
The photo raises another question. One that only affects Luxembourg.
Looking at the picture, an uncomfortable question arises: Is this a setting in which Luxembourg wants to show its Grand Duke, and is this the setting in which Luxembourg’s Grand Duke wants to see himself? Guillaume has already taken part in such events in New York, as Hereditary Grand Duke at the head of an economic mission.
Guillaume is now Grand Duke. In understanding the business model of our parliamentary monarchy, the royals have always been the door openers. The “little one” for the economic events, the “big one” for the impression made by the Chinese, Gulf States etc. Now the “big one” has to continue to play the role of the “little one”. And the disadvantages are slowly becoming apparent, not least because of this photo, whether edited or not.
The question that arises: Does Luxembourg’s Grand Duke still have the same charisma in the world when he has to take part in relatively small events at the same time, where, as in the current case, others can adorn themselves with other people’s feathers thanks to his presence? Around the change of throne, the court and government struggled with how to proceed with the economic missions and whether Guillaume would also accompany them as Grand Duc. It is slowly becoming clear why this is a sensitive question – and why Luxembourg should readjust this role.
