Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are slamming Meta’s decision to kill fact-checking on social media apps Facebook and Instagram.
On Monday, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex took to the website of their charitable Archewell Foundation to call out the company’s newest policy change led by Meta Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg. Meta’s other platforms include Threads and WhatsApp.
“It doesn’t matter whether your views are left, right or somewhere in between — the latest news from Meta about changes to their policies directly undermines free speech,” the couple’s statement, titled “Fact-checking Meta,” read. “This should deeply concern us all.”
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“Contrary to the company’s talking points, allowing more abuse and normalizing hate speech serves to silence speech and expression, not foster it,” they shared. “In an already confusing and, in many instances, intentionally disruptive information environment, Meta has shown their words and commitments have very little meaning or integrity.”
“As they announce these changes undoubtedly responding to political winds, they once again abandon public safety in favor of profit, chaos, and control,” the statement noted. “The company’s decision to rollback protections is so far away from its stated values and commitments to its users — including the parents and families calling for change around the globe — that it’s now deeply deceptive.”
The lengthy entry emphasized that millions of people use Meta’s platforms in the U.S. alone, with “hundreds of millions more” using them globally.
“The company’s decision to rollback protections is so far away from its stated values and commitments to its users — including the parents and families calling for change around the globe — that it’s now deeply deceptive.”
“Many use the platform to spread joy, build community, and share empowering information,” the statement read. “Unfortunately, Meta’s recent decisions go directly against its stated mission to ‘build human connection’ and instead prioritize those using the platforms to spread hate, lies and division at the expense of everyone else.”
“Given the profound global impact Meta’s decisions have on the world — of which many are still recovering from or actively suffering from — the politics of one country should never determine whether freedom of expression and civil and human rights are protected in the online spaces so clearly shaping or destroying democracy,” it shared.
According to the couple, online spaces must be designed “with public safety and well-being at their core, resilient against political pressures and lapses in corporate leadership.”
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In 2024, Harry, 40, and Meghan, 43, launched The Parents Network through Archewell as a resource for parents and caregivers who have been impacted by the harmful effects of social media. Creating a safer space online has been one of the couple’s key goals since stepping back as senior royals in 2020 and moving to California.
“This latest move from Meta is an example of a social media company — fully aware of their power to shape public discourse — disregarding any responsibility to ensure that power is not abused and instead allowing either ego or profit, likely both, to guide decisions that affect billions,” the statement read.
“We are particularly alarmed by plans to abandon commitments to diversity and equity, coupled with internal policy changes that undermine protections for marginalized communities. These decisions echo what experts, whistleblowers, and families have raised in hearings on online harm, especially regarding children’s safety: platform design, dictated by internal policies, directly determines our online experience.”
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“To ignore this is knowingly putting everyone in harm’s way and contributing to a global mental health crisis,” the statement continued. “Meta’s changes to its ‘Hateful Content Policies’ do not protect free expression but instead foster an environment where abuse and hate speech silence and threaten the voices of whole communities who make up a healthy democracy.
“We urge Meta to reconsider and reinstate policies to protect all users. We also call on leaders across industries to uphold their commitments to integrity and public safety in online spaces, and we applaud leaders who refuse to kowtow to bullying.”
The statement also linked several organizations that “advocate for accountability and fairness online.”
“Having worked in this space for the last five years and witnessing the real-world devastation these decisions have, we feel there is no justification for why this industry behaves as if they are exempt from the ethical and moral standards everyone else abides by,” said the statement.
“We at The Archewell Foundation remain committed to promoting accountability, safeguarding information integrity, and protecting all communities in the digital age. We hope and expect those enabling Meta’s profits, like advertisers and shareholders, to do the same.”
Meta is replacing its fact-checking with a “community notes” system reminiscent of X, where it depends on users to correct misinformation on its platforms.
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Zuckerberg, 40, released a video saying it was time to prioritize “free expression” and that fact-checkers had become “politically biased.” Zuckerberg also noted he is moving Meta’s content moderation team from California, a blue state, to red state Texas and lifting restrictions on some immigration and gender discussions.
Meta had no immediate comment on how many people might be relocated.
On Jan. 1, Meghan rejoined social media after a five-year hiatus. She has an Instagram account under the handle @meghan with comments turned off. The former American actress has a new Netflix series, “With Love, Meghan,” which was set for a Jan. 15 premiere. It was rescheduled to March due to the Los Angeles fires.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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