Meghan Markle and Prince Harry hosted a virtual discussion about the impact of online communities in people's lives. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex engaged different panels composed of industry experts and journalists about the importance of creating a safer space online, where misinformation and hate speech should be non-existent.
Presented for TIME100 Talks, the event centered on the topic Engineering a Better World as Meghan Markle and Prince Harry focus on building more compassionate online communities. This is the thrust and focus of their new foundation, Archewell, which the couple will still launch to the public in a few months.
During the talk, Meghan opened up about her critics on social media. The Duchess of Sussex said that the good comments and criticisms posted online far outweigh the bad comments. However, she observed that "the bad can be so loud" that its impact can affect anyone in her position on "a deeper level."
Prince Harry's wife revealed in a previous virtual panel that she was the most trolled person on the internet in 2019. Meghan, however, said that it's not too late to change how people use social media, which is what she and Harry aim to accomplish.
One of the guests of the panel was Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, who is also the husband of Serena Williams, the Duchess of Sussex's best friend. Ohanian admitted that online platforms have not invested in the right tools to reduce toxicity and he has been in this industry in the last 15 years.
Meghan suggested that, while she and Harry "don't speak tech," social media platforms could come up with a push notification to inform the public of shared fake news stories. The duchess said that they went through pain and suffering because of many unfounded stories about them on the World Wide Web and it would help to correct this misinformation.
Meanwhile, Harry said that he feels it is his job to encourage people to listen to the experts about the serious effects of toxicity on the internet. The Duke of Sussex said that this problem is a global crisis and it's not restricted to just one platform.
Meghan Markle agreed with her husband and said that this problem does not just cover the tech side or the mental health side. In her other discussion with Fortune Magazine, Meghan said that social media use can be addicting just like drug use. However, she also admitted it is overwhelming to understand the nuances of social media but not doing anything can have an "all-encompassing" impact.
