Meghan Markle has opened up about the negative impact that misinformation can have in the digital world, speaking specifically to her critics who often spread “inflammatory” words about her.
On September 29, the Duchess of Sussex sat down for Fortune’s Most Powerful Women virtual summit to speak about “what it will take to create humane tech”.
“We have got to all put our stock in something that is true, and we need to have reliable media and news sources that are telling us the truth…when you know something is wrong, report it, talk about it,” Markle said via Zoom call.
“It’s like we live in the future when you’re talking about bots and trolls and all of these things,” she noted.
She continued: “It seems so fantastical, but that’s actually the current state of affairs and that is shaping how we interact with each other online and off—and that’s the piece that’s important.”
“It is not just an isolated experience. It transcends into how you interact with anyone around you and certainly your own relationship with yourself.”
Only days after addressing the importance of voting in the 2020 U.S. Presidential election, Markle also discussed her own experience confronting misinformation, saying: “If you look back at anything I’ve said, what ends up being inflammatory is people’s interpretation of it. But if you listen to what I actually say it’s not controversial.”
She went on to note that she attempts to navigate her critics by instilling a “sense of humour” even though some of their comments have “a bit of gravity”.
“The moment that you’re able to be liberated from all these other opinions of what you know to be true, then I think it’s very easy to live with truth and live with authenticity,” she explained. “That’s how I choose to move through the world.”
The duchess went on to speak about the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic and said that people “are all going through a reset and we are all going through a moment of reckoning—and probably a re-evaluation of what really matters”.
“For me, it’s been amazing to spend time with my husband and watch our little one grow and that’s where our attention has been. In addition to, of course, how we can be a part of the change of energy that so many people are craving right now and whatever we can do to help in that capacity.”
The royal ended her “appearance” at the summit with a quote from American artist Georgia O’Keefe which summed up her discussion perfectly.
“I have already settled it for myself so flattery and criticism go down the same drain and I am quite free.”
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