Prince Harry spoke about the unrest that occurred in Washington DC earlier this month.
On January 6, protesters stormed the US Capitol building on the day that Congress was set to confirm the victory of Joe Biden’s electoral college, and a series of arrests, investigations and more followed.
Having recently moved to the United States with his wife, former American actress Meghan Markle, the 36-year-old prince expressed concern about the role that social media played in the chaos.
When asked by Fast Company whether companies like Twitter and Amazon should be allowed to choose who to give access to, Harry acknowledged the seriousness of the disturbances.
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“We have seen repeatedly what happens when the real cost of disinformation is disregarded. There is no way to minimize this,” he said. “There was a literal attack on democracy in the United States, organized on social media, which is a matter of violent extremism.”
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, said social media played an important role in the riots in Washington DC earlier this month. (Photo by Karwai Tang / WireImage)
Harry then gave more examples.
“It is widely recognized that social media played a role in the genocide in Myanmar and was used as a vehicle to incite violence against the Rohingya people, which is a human rights issue,” said the king. “And in Brazil, social networks provided a channel for disinformation that ended up bringing destruction to the Amazon, which is an environmental and global health issue.
“In a way, adopting a predominantly non-intervention approach to problems for so long is in itself an exercise in power,” continued Harry.
He added that he is thinking of a place in London called Speakers’ Corner that promotes “open-air debate, dialogue and the exchange of information and ideas”.
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Harry compared the area to a “public square”, to which some compared social media in the midst of ongoing debates.
Supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol building on January 6. (AP Photo / Jose Luis Magana, Archive)
“There are basic rules. You cannot incite violence, you cannot obscure who you are and you cannot pay to monopolize or own your own space. Ideas are considered or overturned; opinions are formed,” he explained. “At best, movements are born, lies are exposed and attempts to fuel violence are rejected at the moment. In the worst case, intolerance, group thinking, hatred and persecution are amplified. sometimes it forces you to draw limits and rules or laws that arise or are challenged. “
However, the Real clarified that it does not think that “we should abandon technology in favor of Speakers’ Corner.”
“Instead, we should avoid buying into the idea that social media is the modern day public square and that any attempt to ask platforms to account for the landscape they have created is an attack or restriction of speech,” he said. “I think it’s a false choice to say that you have to choose between freedom of speech or a more compassionate and reliable digital world. They are not mutually exclusive ”.
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The Duke of Sussex pointed out that, in the case of social media, a few have created “algorithms” that are seen by “billions” of users, regardless of whether the algorithm presents accurate information or not.
“This radically changes how and why we inform opinions. It changes how we talk and what we decide to talk about. It changes how we think and how we react, ”he explained. “Ultimately, it allowed completely different versions of reality, with opposite sets of truth, to exist simultaneously.”
He said that this industry model decimated the need for “an understanding of the truth” to be “based on facts”, since any form of “proof” can be found thanks to widespread misinformation.
Prince Harry now lives in California with his wife, Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex. (Photo by Karwai Tang / WireImage)
“I believe this is the opposite of what we should want from our collective online community,” said Harry. “The current model classifies and separates instead of uniting us; it stifles or even eliminates healthy dialogue and reasonable debate; it removes the mutual respect that we should have for each other as citizens of the same world.”
The king also revealed what he plans to do to resolve the problem, which he called “a humanitarian issue”.
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“That’s why my wife and I spent much of 2020 consulting with experts and learning directly from academics, advocates and policymakers. We also empathetically listen to people who have stories to share – including people who have been deeply affected by misinformation. and those who grew up as digital natives, “he shared.
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Real concluded: “What we hope to do is continue to be the center of attention for your prospects and focus on harnessing your experience and energy to accelerate the pace of change in the digital world.”