Prince Harry does not like the term “Megxit”. This portmanteau word, a contraction of “Meghan” and “exit” which refers to Brexit, has been used regularly by the press since the couple left their royal duties before moving to the United States. But for Harry, it has connotations much less light than it seems.
“Maybe people know it and maybe they don’t know it, but the term Megxit was, or is, a misogynistic term, and it was created by a troll, then amplified by royal correspondents, and it grew and grown and grown up in mainstream media. But it started with a troll, ”he said at a conference called Internet Lie Machine, organized by the magazine. Wired and relayed by the Guardian.
Always the same
For several months, Prince Harry has made the fight against disinformation on social networks one of his battle horses. In the conference, he cites a study by the Bot Sentinel service, which analyzes posts sent by fake profiles, and indicates that 83 Twitter accounts are responsible for 70% of “hate or spurious” articles devoted to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex .
“Perhaps most disturbing of all this is the number of British journalists who interact with these accounts and amplify the lies to regurgitate them as truth,” Prince Harry added. And to conclude: “I learned very early on that the motivation behind the publication of a news is not necessarily related to the disclosure of the truth. I know this story all too well. I lost my mother because of this self-fueled hatred (by the media), and I’m obviously determined not to lose the mother of my children because of the same… ”
Prince Harry’s mother Lady Diana died in a car crash under the Alma Bridge in Paris in 1997 as her vehicle was followed by several paparazzi. During an interview with Oprah Winfrey earlier this year, Meghan Markle admitted having had suicidal thoughts because of hateful articles from part of the British press.