Prince Harry spoke out about the riots that took place in Washington DC earlier this month.
On January 6, protesters stormed the U.S. Capitol building on the day Congress would confirm Joe Biden’s victory, and a series of arrests, investigations and more ensued.
After recently moving to the United States with his wife, former American actress Meghan Markle, the 36-year-old prince expressed his concern about the role social media played in the chaos.
When asked by Fast Company whether companies like Twitter and Amazon should be allowed to choose who they give access to, Harry acknowledges the seriousness of the riots.
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“We have seen time and time again what happens when the real cost of misinformation is ignored. There is no way to downplay it,” he said. “There was a literal attack on democracy in the United States, organized on social media, which is a matter of violent extremism.”
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, said social media played a role in the riots in Washington DC earlier this month. (Photo by Karwai Tang / WireImage)
After that, Harry gave more examples.
“It is widely acknowledged that social media has played a role in the Myanmar genocide and has been used as a vehicle to incite violence against the Rohingya people, which is a human rights issue,” the royal said in a statement. “And in Brazil, social media provided a channel for misinformation that eventually destroyed the Amazon, which is an environmental and global health problem.
“In a way, it’s an exercise in power to use a predominantly practical approach to problems for so long,” Harry continued.
He added that he was thinking about a place in London called Speakers’ Corner that ‘promotes public debate, dialogue and the exchange of information and ideas’.
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Harry likens the area to a ‘public square’, which some social media have compared in the midst of ongoing debates.
Supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the US Capitol building on January 6 (AP Photo / Jose Luis Magana, File)
“There are ground rules. You can not incite violence, you can not obscure who you are, and you can not pay to monopolize or own the space itself. Ideas are considered or shot down; opinions are formed,” he said. explained. “At best, movements are born, lies are exposed and attempts to incite violence are rejected at the moment. In the worst way, intolerance, group thinking, hatred and persecution are reinforced. And sometimes it forces them to draw lines. And rules or laws to come forward or be challenged. ‘
However, the Royal explained that he does not feel that ‘we should leave the technology in favor of Speakers’ Corner’.
“Rather, it is that we should avoid embracing the idea that social media is the ultimate contemporary public square and that any attempt to ask platforms to account for the landscape they have created is an attack or restriction of the speech is, “he said. “I think it’s a false choice to say you have to choose between free speech or a more compassionate and reliable digital world. They are not mutually exclusive.”
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The Duke of Sussex pointed out that in the case of social media, he designed some select ‘algorithms’ that are seen by ‘billions’ of users, whether the algorithm provides accurate information or not.
“It radically changes how and why we inform opinions. It changes how we talk and what we decide to talk about. It changes how we think and how we react,” he explained. “Ultimately, it allowed completely different versions of reality, with opposing sets of truth, to exist simultaneously.”
He said that such a business model diminished the need for one’s understanding ‘of the truth’ ‘actually’ based, as any form of ‘proof’ could be found thanks to widespread misinformation.
Prince Harry now lives in California with his wife, Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex. (Photo by Karwai Tang / WireImage)
“I believe this is the opposite of what we would want from our collective online community,” Harry said. “The current model sorts and separates rather than brings us together; it drowns or eliminates even healthy dialogue and reasonable debate; it removes the mutual respect we as citizens of the same world should have for each other.”
The royal also revealed what he intends to do to address the issue, which he called a ‘humanitarian issue’.
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“This is why my wife and I spent a great deal of 2020 consulting the experts and learning directly from academics, lawyers and policymakers. We also listened with empathy to people who have stories to share – including people who have been deeply affected by misinformation and those who grew up as digital natives, ”he shared.
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The Royal concluded: “What we hope to do is to continue to be a spotlight for their perspectives, and to harness their experience and energy to accelerate the pace of change in the digital world.”