Prince Harry believes that misinformation spread through social media was a key component in the planning of the January 6 riots in the US capital.
The Duke of Sussex claims in a new Q&A from Fast Company that “dominant online platforms have contributed to the conditions for a hate crisis, a health crisis and a truth crisis.”
“We are losing loved ones to conspiracy theories,” he continues, “we are losing a sense of self as a result of the deluge of districts, and we are losing our democracies on a large scale.”
Asked about the ‘well-documented online harassment’ he and his wife Meghan Markle experienced while in the UK, Harry said that false reports spread through social media made a huge contribution.
“I was really surprised to see how my story was told in one way, my wife’s story was told in one way, and then our union sparked something that made telling the story different,” he said.
‘That false narrative became motherhood for all the harassment you are referring to. It would not have started even if our story had only been told truth. ”
Harry has also addressed technological giants such as Twitter, YouTube and Facebook banning former President Trump, and although he did not name Trump directly, he feels that businesses have every right to regulate those they believe are abusing the platform.
“We have seen time and time again what happens when the real cost of misinformation is ignored,” he continued. “There is no way to diminish it. There has been a literal attack on democracy in the United States, organized on social media, which is a matter of violent extremism. ”
Last week it was reported that Harry and Meghan would probably leave social media altogether because of the “hate” they received.