Prince William is speaking up and intervening in the recent online bullying and racist abuse aimed at Manchester United footballer Marcus Rashford. The Duke of Cambridge said that this "despicable" behavior must stop.
In a series of posts on Kensington Royal's Twitter account, William wrote a rare but impassioned statement to condemn those who "spread hate and division" on social media. The second in line to the British throne also said that the platform must bear the responsibility of creating an environment that does not tolerate these attacks.
The Duke of Cambridge reacted after Rashford implied on his Twitter account that he has been receiving racist attacks after his team's 0-0 game against Arsenal on Sunday. The sportsman said he will not be sharing the screencaps but he also won't give his online bashers the satisfaction of an angry reaction since that's what they're expecting.
William's statement also comes as Manchester United issued a call condemning racial abuse on social media. This wasn't the first time Black players from the team have been subjected to the attacks and even their family members have been receiving threats from misguided fans. Reports stated that the authorities are already looking into the abusive posts.
Aside from being an avid fan of the game, William is the President of The Football Association. He was expressing his support for the players and the league, as well as compounding on the advocacy he and his brother, Prince Harry, have been discussing for years.
In 2016, William launched the Cyberbullying Taskforce, an initiative to tackle online hate and abuse, with his wife Kate Middleton. During the launch, the royal said that he's very concerned of the online environment because his kids, as well as other children, will inevitably use a powerful tool like the internet one day.
William, however, believes that while users have their responsibility to behave well, the owners of these platforms and the leaders in the tech industry are not doing enough to curb a growing and worrying trend of fake news, polarization, hate speech, trolling and bullying. He called out these companies for being motivated by profit and devoid of any values.
The Duke of Cambridge's reaction echoes the example of Harry and Meghan Markle, whose new foundation, Archewell, is aimed at creating healthy and compassionate communities. Meghan is no stranger to bullying and racism, and she said that she was the most trolled person on the planet in 2019.
