In recent years Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been victims of harassment on social networks. In an interview with Fast Company, little Archie’s dad broke the silence by talking about the damage that misinformation can do.
Prince Harry is a happy man, soon to be married to Meghan Markle and the father of a little boy. While Prince William’s little brother is usually discreet about his private life, it was in an interview with Fast Company that he explained why moving away from social networks had been the best thing he had done to protect his family.
Referring first to misinformation on the Internet, Prince Harry explained, referring to the attack on Capitol Hill: “We have seen what happens in the real world when you don’t pay attention to misinformation. There has been a real attack on democracy in the United States, organised on social networks, by violent extremism”.
While his relationship with Meghan Markle was the target of much criticism, Prince Harry revealed: “I was very surprised to see how my story was told in a certain way, how my wife’s story was told in a certain way (…). This false narrative became the core of all this harassment.
This would never have happened if our story had been told honestly from the beginning.” Wishing to take the positive out of the situation, the Duke of Sussex added: “It brought us to hear from so many other people in the world. We have thought a lot about those who are in much more vulnerable positions than we are, and how much there is a need for real empathy and support.
On their own scale, everyone has been deeply affected by the current consequences of the digital space. It could be as individual as seeing a loved one go down the path of radicalisation, or as collective as seeing science being denied”.
Prince Harry turns his back on social networks
As the couple made the decision to withdraw from social networking, the Sunday Times said a few days ago: “A source close to the couple said they had ‘no plans’ to use social networking for their new Archewell Foundation and that it was ‘very unlikely’ that they would return to the platforms in a personal capacity.