The Duke of Sussex has hit out at online disinformation during a four-day visit to Colombia, warning: “What happens online within a matter of minutes transfers to the streets.”
Speaking in Bogotá at a summit on digital responsibility, Harry said of the spread of false information via artificial intelligence and social media: “People are acting on information that isn’t true.”
The warning, on the first day of the tour of Colombia by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, did not name specific social media platforms, but Harry’s comments followed criticism of the tech billionaire and owner of X, Elon Musk, and social media platforms after the far-right riots in the UK.
Addressing experts at the summit, which was staged in part by Harry and Meghan’s Archewell Foundation, Harry said in comments reported by the BBC: “In an ideal world those with positions of influence would take more responsibility. We are no longer debating facts.
“For as long as people are allowed to spread lies, abuse, harass, then social cohesion as we know it has completely broken down.”
The couple’s visit is at the invitation of Francia Márquez, Colombia’s vice-president, who told journalists she had been “deeply moved” by the Sussexes’ Netflix docuseries about their lives. “It motivated me to say [of Meghan], ‘this is a woman who deserves to visit our country and share her story’, and undoubtedly, her visit will strengthen so many women around the world,” said Márquez as she welcomed them to Bogotá.
Márquez said she had previously invited Meghan to get involved with a “day of Afro-descendant women” which is commemorated annually on 25 July, but Meghan was unable to make it. “At that time, we sent her an invitation letter, and she responded saying that she couldn’t come but was very eager to visit and get to know our country,” Márquez said.
It has not been confirmed who is funding the trip to Colombia, but the couple have reportedly been given a full security detail, which they no longer receive in the UK after stepping down as working royals in 2020. During the visit, which appears to follow the format of official royal visits, they are expected to spend time in Cartagena and Cali and attend the Petronio Álvarez festival, a four-day event in celebration of Afro-Colombian music and culture.
Their first day was spent in the capital, Bogotá, where they visited a school to meet teenagers at a session on online safety, watched a cultural showcase in which they joined in with the dancing, and attended the digital summit looking at the urgent need to tackle the harmful aspects of technology and digital platforms.
It is the Sussexes’ third trip this year after a three-day visit to Nigeria in May and a visit to Jamaica in January.
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