On the 13th of January, Buzzfeed News released a story titled: “Here Are 20 Headlines Comparing Meghan Markle To Kate Middleton That May Show Why She And Prince Harry Are Cutting Off Royal Reporters”

This story was re-posted on the outlet’s social media accounts recently following reports that Markle and Prince Harry are cutting off all ties and banning four UK tabloids.

 

Compare these 20 headline and see how differently royal reporters treated Kate Middleton and Meghan Marklehttps://t.co/EwwPd3waJe pic.twitter.com/WYP402SY2R

 

— BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeedNews) January 13, 2020

A single look at the creative accompanying this tweet will tell you all you need to know about how Markle has been compared vis-a-vis Middleton. Hence, while it came as some surprise when sections of the media reported that the couple were cutting off ties with ‘The Sun’, ‘The Mail’, ‘The Mirror’ and ‘The Express’, netizens felt that this was justified.

In a sharply-worded letter, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex who are now living in Los Angeles, condemned reports posted about the couple as “distorted and false”.

“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.

The letter also stated that Harry and Meghan will not “offer themselves up as currency for an economy of clickbait and distortion”. “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,” they added.

(Header credits: @sussexroyal on Instagram)