Prince Harry joins US initiative to tackle fake news – The Guardian

Prince Harry has added another job to the burgeoning portfolio career he has built up since relinquishing his royal duties, by joining a US initiative to tackle fake news.

The Duke of Sussex has been named as one of 15 members of the Commission on Information Disorder set up by the Aspen Institute thinktank. Announcing the move, the prince said he was keen to tackle the avalanche of misinformation in the digital world and argued this had become a humanitarian issue.

Harrys fellow commissioners include the former US congressman Will Hurd, one of the only Republican congressmen who criticised Donald Trump; Garry Kasparov, the former chess champion and outspoken critic of Vladimir Putin; and Kathryn Murdoch, the daughter-in-law of the media baron Rupert Murdoch.

It will be co-chaired by the US journalist and broadcaster Katie Couric; Chris Krebs, the former director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency; and the race equality campaigner Rashad Robinson, the president of Color of Change.

The commission will begin meeting in April and will hold a series of hearings with external experts.

Harry and Meghan have been highly critical of the media, claiming they contributed to the couples decision to leave the UK. Last month, Harry told James Corden the British press created a difficult environment that was destroying his mental health.

In a statement on his new role, Harry said: The experience of todays digital world has inundated us with an avalanche of misinformation, affecting our ability as individuals as well as societies to think clearly and truly understand the world we live in.

He added: It is my belief that this is a humanitarian issue and as such, it demands a multi-stakeholder response from advocacy groups, members of the media, academic researchers, and both government and civil society leaders.

The commission describes Harry as a humanitarian, military veteran, mental wellness advocate, and environmentalist.

The move comes a day after Harry was announced as the new chief impact officer for a Silicon Valley startup offering professional coaching and mental health advice.

In their interview with Winfrey, Harry and Meghan complained about having to pay for their own security after they stepped back from royal duties.

Since leaving their roles as working royals, the couple have signed multimillion-dollar deals including one to provide content for Netflix, and another to present podcasts for Spotify.

Couric said: In todays media landscape, consumers face a constant barrage of content that reinforces their established viewpoints. Powered by algorithms and shared ideologies, people often get affirmation instead of information, where facts are manipulated if not completely ignored.

This truth decay is a tremendous threat, not only to a well-informed electorate, but to democracy itself. With commentary increasingly replacing reporting, polarisation has deepened and trust in media has declined.

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Prince Harry joins US initiative to tackle fake news - The Guardian