New Delhi: In a strongly worded letter to the editors of four British tabloids, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, announced that there would be “no corroboration and zero engagement” between them and these media outlets.
The letter was sent to the editors of The Sun, Daily Mail, Mirror and Express Sunday night and it said the couple would not respond to journalists working for these tabloids.
The letter also stated that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will not “offer themselves up as currency for an economy of clickbait and distortion”.
It came after Markle filed a case against the Mail for printing a letter she had sent to her estranged father. Additionally, Prince Harry has separate legal claims against the respective parent companies of The Sun and Mirror for alleged phone hacking cases.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex also raised some concerns through the letter. “It is gravely concerning that an influential slice of the media, over many years, has sought to insulate themselves from taking accountability for what they say or print — even when they know it to be distorted, false, or invasive beyond reason. When power is enjoyed without responsibility, the trust we all place in this much-needed industry is degraded,” they wrote.
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‘Not censoring accurate reporting’
The couple said they have watched the lives of people “pulled apart for no other reason, other than the fact that salacious gossip boosts advertising revenue”.
However, they also made it clear that their revised media policies are not seeking to avoid criticism. “It’s not about shutting down public conversation or censoring accurate reporting. Media has every right to report on and indeed have an opinion on The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, good or bad. But it can’t be based on a lie. They also want to be very clear: this is not in any way a blanket policy for all media.”
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