Prince Harry and Meghan accuse Meta of 'allowing more abuse and normalising hate speech'
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The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have accused Meta of "allowing more abuse and normalising hate speech" after its decision to scrap third-party fact-checking and loosen its content moderation. Harry and Meghan, in a lengthy statement issued on behalf of their Archewell Foundation, criticised the social media giant for responding to "political winds" and "abandon(ing) public safety in favour of profit, chaos, and control".
"This should deeply concern us all," their message read. "Contrary to the company's talking points, allowing more abuse and normalising hate speech serves to silence speech and expression, not foster it.". They labelled Meta "deeply deceptive" over its rollback of protections despite commitments to parents and families calling for change, accusing it of contributing to a global mental health crisis.
The statement added: "Meta has shown their words and commitments have very little meaning or integrity. As they announce these changes undoubtedly responding to political winds, they once again abandon public safety in favour of profit, chaos, and control.".
Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg confirmed last week the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and Threads would replace its longstanding fact-checking programme with a "community notes" system similar to Elon Musk's X platform. Mr Zuckerberg said the move, seen by some as an attempt to curry favour with the incoming Donald Trump administration in the US, was about "restoring freedom of expression".
