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If Meghan Markle had her way, Instagram would have a “dislike” button.
The 40-year-old Duchess of Sussex expressed her view at the New York Times Dealbook Online Summit earlier this week where she introduced the idea, saying it would stop a lot of the hateful speech that takes place on social media.
“One of the things that seems like such an easy solve from my lens, if you look at Instagram for example, there’s a ‘like’ button and then there’s comments,” she told host Andrew Ross Sorkin, an editor at large for the New York Times.
“So if you disagree with something you have to comment on it in a really vitriolic way,” she continued. “If there was a ‘dislike’ button, wouldn't that hugely shift what you were putting out there? Because you could just ‘like’ it or just ‘dislike’ it.”
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“Now you have to ‘like’ it or say something negative. It is just adding to this really unfortunate cycle that I think is having an unfortunate effect on women across the world.”
Her husband, Prince Harry, has also been outspoken on the problem of social media. During an interview with Wired magazine’s RE:WIRED virtual summit, he cited an independent report that found “more than 70% of the hate speech about my wife on Twitter can be traced to fewer than 50 accounts”.
He also said tabloid journalists “amplified the hate and the lies”. “They regurgitate these lies as truth” he added.
The Sussexes made a rare return to the red carpet on Wednesday evening at the 2021 Salute to Freedom Gala in New York where the duchess wowed in a red gown by American designer Carolina Herrera that featured a plunging neckline. She paired it with satin heels by Giuseppe Zanotti.
She opted for her signature smoky eye look and pinned her hair up in a sleek top knot.
Harry sported a classic black tuxedo for the special ceremony, which honours military veterans for their service and took place at the Intrepid Museum.
The couple also wore red poppy flower pins as a nod to the UK's Remembrance Day on 11 November.
Sources: people.com, harpersbazaar.com
