Harry and Meghan have been the subject of cruel, intrusive and sometimes illegal coverage in the press for years

Harry and Meghan have been the subject of cruel, intrusive and sometimes illegal coverage in the press for years, says Hacked Off

Commenting on the Netflix documentary, Hacked Off Board Director and journalist Emma Jones said,

“The abusive press coverage faced by Harry and Meghan has not served the public interest. It has been designed solely for the purposes of selling newspapers and attracting online readers. They have been exploited to plump the profits of billionaire newspaper owners.

“Far from the family soap opera portrayed in the newspapers, Harry & Meghan’s real story has been one of press exploitation and abuse.

“Meghan Markle has described the mental health crisis she experienced which she attributes, at least in part, to the intense, intrusive coverage of the press. It is no surprise that trust in the press has continued to collapse amidst this deeply irresponsible form of journalism.

Commenting on allegations of racism in the UK media, Jones said,

“From headlines like “Almost straight outta Compton” to references to her “exotic blood”, dog-whistle racism has played a significant part in how newspapers have chosen to cover Markle.

It should shame editors that racism has become such a part of UK tabloid culture that even the UN has felt compelled to call it out.

The absence of independent regulation for most newspapers means there is no way to hold the press accountable for abuse targeted at groups of people on the basis of race, gender or any other characteristic.”

Senior Media Lawyer Jonathan Coad said,

“When Harry and Megan suggested there may be some form of racism lurking in the Royal Household the press scoffed and scolded. Subsequent events around Lady Hussey has proved them right. They are paying the price for having the courage to call the press out and hold it to account. We are all in their debt for doing so.”

Hacked Off CEO Nathan Sparkes said,

“The ferocity of press attacks faced by Meghan and Harry can only be fully understood by reference to the detail which most of the press has deliberately omitted from their coverage. That is the fact that they have stood up for themselves, and have taken legal action against the most powerful newspaper publishers in the country.

“For decades, with rare exception, Royals have avoided confrontation with the media at all costs. But Harry and Meghan have taken a different path; criticising the press in other media and seeking to have their rights upheld in a court of law.

“In doing so they have exposed the press’ favoured strategy of waging vicious and personal campaigns against their critics, to intimidate them into silence, as having failed in the most public and spectacular way.

“The relentlessly hostile coverage they face today is an ugly backlash, from an industry which is losing its grip on the power and control it wields over the privacy and reputations of Royalty and other well-known people.”