Prince Harry Laughs Off Rumors He, Meghan Quit Social Media: 'News to Us'

Prince Harry joked about recent reports that he and Meghan Markle abandoned their social media accounts — see his response

Don’t believe everything you read. Prince Harry had a surprising reaction to recent reports that he and Meghan Markle had abandoned their social media accounts amid ongoing “hate” from trolls.

When asked about how he navigates his “concerns about divisiveness, misinformation and hate speech online” during an interview with Fast Company, published on Friday, January 22, Harry, 36, joked about becoming the subject of increased scrutiny from the press during his royal tenure.

“It’s funny you should ask because ironically, we woke up one morning a couple of weeks ago to hear that a Rupert Murdoch newspaper said we were evidently quitting social media,” Harry said. “That was ‘news’ to us, bearing in mind we have no social media to quit, nor have we for the past 10 months.”

Following their official step back from their senior royal duties last year, Harry and Meghan, 39, have not been active on their Sussex Royal accounts. The couple shared a goodbye message to their followers in March 2020, noting that “while you may not see us here, the work continues.”

Earlier this month, the Times of London reported that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are “very unlikely” to return to Twitter, Instagram and Facebook after receiving a barrage of “hate” on the platforms. Despite the rumors, Harry told Fast Company that he and his wife won’t turn away completely from the online world.

“We will revisit social media when it feels right for us — perhaps when we see more meaningful commitments to change or reform — but right now we’ve thrown much of our energy into learning about this space and how we can help,” he explained.

Harry and the Suits alum have faced an uphill battle since going public with their relationship in 2016. The royal pair tied the knot in May 2018 and welcomed their son, Archie, one year later. As they continue to advocate against cyberbullying, the pair have gone into detail about their own experiences facing negativity online.

“I’m told that in 2019 I was the most trolled person in the entire world, male or female,” Meghan said during an October 2020 conversation on the “Teenager Therapy” podcast. “Now, eight months of that I wasn’t even visible, I was on maternity leave or with a baby. But what was able to just be manufactured and churned out, it’s almost unsurvivable, that’s so big, you can’t think of what that feels like, because I don’t care if you’re 15 or 25, if people are saying things about you that aren’t true, what that does to your mental and emotional health is so damaging.”

The pair have faced backlash for being an interracial couple and have frequently spoken out against the extreme criticism they’ve received since their romance began to make headlines. Harry, for his part, previously admitted that he didn’t realize the full impact of racial bias until he met Meghan.

“You can’t really point fingers, especially when it comes to unconscious bias. But once you realize or you feel a little bit uncomfortable, then the onus is on you to go out and educate yourself, because ignorance is no longer an excuse,” he told GQ in October 2020. “And unconscious bias, from my understanding, having the upbringing and the education that I had, I had no idea what it was. I had no idea it existed. … It took me many, many years to realize it, especially then living a day or a week in my wife’s shoes.”

This story originally appeared on: US Magazine - Author:Meredith Nardino

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