Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are reportedly using their considerable influence to support the Stop Hate for Profit boycott of Facebook advertising.
The campaign is encouraging businesses to refuse to advertise with the tech company throughout July to protest hate speech and lack of fact-checking on the social media platform that leads to the dangerous spread of misinformation.
“They allowed incitement to violence against protesters fighting for racial justice in America in the wake of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, Ahmaud Arbery, Rayshard Brooks and so many others,” the Stop Hate for Profit website reads. “Let’s send Facebook a powerful message. Your profits will never be worth promoting hate, bigotry, racism, antisemitism and violence.”
But where do Prince Harry and Meghan Markle come in? According to a source who spoke to Town and Country this month, the royal couple are privately encouraging CEOs to “stand in solidarity” with the civil rights initiative.
“As we've been developing Archewell, one of the areas The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been keen to address is online hate speech, and we've been working with civil rights and racial justice groups on it,” the source said. “Over the past few weeks, in particular, this issue has become even more vital and they have been working to encourage global CEOs to stand in solidarity with a coalition of civil and racial justice groups like the NAACP, Color of Change, and the Anti-Defamation League, which are calling for structural changes to our online world.”
On June fourth, Meghan Markle gave a powerful commencement speech about the death of George Floyd and Black Lives Matter.
A source told T&C that “for a long time, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been working on how to move the tech industry in a more humane direction,” and that they “believe there is an urgent and pressing need to remodel the framework of our online public spaces.”
The pair have reportedly been “working behind the scenes to urge global CEOs to stand in solidarity with civil rights and racial justice leaders," the source continued. "They’ve spoken with CEOs across the product spectrum; tech and media, consumer goods, food and beverage, apparel, and others.”
On June 26, the NAACP have shared a message to the duke and duchess to thank them for their support.
“We are grateful for the leadership of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in recognizing the importance of solidarity in this moment," the civil rights organization tweeted. "Your commitment to truth, justice, and equality are appreciated.”
According to the publication, more than 90 advertisers have joined the boycott so far.
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