Prince Harry and Meghan Markle slammed Mark Zuckerberg for “contributing to a global mental health crisis” after Meta scrapped fact-checking and restrictions on free speech.
A week after the Facebook tycoon announced Facebook would be returning to its original focus on free speech, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex released a statement on their Archewell Foundation website slamming the decision.
“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,” they kick-started their lengthy statement on Tuesday. “This should deeply concern us all.”
Harry, 40, and Markle, 43, detailed that this new initiative would allow “more abuse” and normalize “hate speech” which would “serve to silence speech and expression, not foster it.”
Pointing out that getting rid of fact-checking was “undoubtedly” a response to “political winds,” referencing Donald J. Trump winning the 2024 presidential election, Meta has “once again abandon[ed] public safety in favor of profit, chaos, and control.”
They also claimed that Meta now prioritizes “those using the platforms to spread hate, lies and division at the expense of everyone else.”
The royals — who advocate for “accountability, safeguarding information integrity, and protecting all communities in the digital age” — claimed that Meta is “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” of users.
“We are particularly alarmed by plans to abandon commitments to diversity and equity, coupled with internal policy changes that undermine protections for marginalized communities,” their statement further read.
“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.
“To ignore this is knowingly putting everyone in harm’s way and contributing to a global mental health crisis.”
Per Harry and the “Suits” actress, Meta changing its policies fosters “an environment where abuse and hate speech silence and threaten the voices of whole communities who make up a healthy democracy.”
The couple then urged Meta to “reconsider and reinstate policies to protect all uses” and called “on leaders […] to uphold their commitments to integrity and public safety in online spaces,” while also applauding those “who refuse to kowtow to bullying.”
“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,” they concluded their statement.
On Jan. 7, Zuckerberg released a video claiming that Facebook had done “too much censorship” and, as a result, it would be scrapping fact-checking and restrictions on free speech.
The Meta CEO said they will specifically get rid of “restrictions on topics like immigration and gender that are just out of touch with mainstream discourse.”
“What started as a movement to be more inclusive has increasingly been used to shut down opinions and shut out people with different ideas,” he said. “It’s gone too far.”
Since his announcement, Zuckerberg has been criticized over the decision with Meta officials saying he is “buckling to political pressure” before Trump takes office on Jan. 20. The businessman, 40, was spotted dining with the incoming president at Mar-a-Lago in November 2023.
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