Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are once again wading into American politics, joining a campaign to warn American voters against misinformation in the upcoming presidential election.
His Archewell Foundation and other Hollywood political players are supporting an initiative to prepare American voters for a possible attack of falsified information by AI. axios reported.
Specifically, the Archewell Foundation is helping brainstorm new content for the campaign.
It is the second time the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been involved in a presidential election. In the 2020 race, they urged Americans to register to vote and reject misinformation.
Republicans and other critics subsequently called on the Royal Family to strip the couple of their titles, calling the duke and duchess’s interference inappropriate.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are jumping back into American politics, topping the couple at the Invictus Games in Germany in September.
This year’s campaign is coordinated by Miles Taylor, policy director at The Future US. Taylor was chief of staff at the Department of Homeland Security under President Donald Trump and the anonymous author of a New York Times op-ed revealing the dangers of the Trump presidency.
Now it is sounding alarms about the use of fake videos and images.
“This is a disaster waiting to happen: No one is publicly vaccinating,” he told Axios.
With the advent of cheap generative AI and a host of social media platforms available, experts warn that manipulated images, edited videos and misleading robocalls could dominate politics this year.
What aggravates the situation is the lack of regulation and coordination between relevant federal agencies and social media companies.
‘The government is not talking to social media companies. “Many social media companies don’t want anything to do with the government, which means new AI threats could go undetected,” Taylor said.
Google, Meta and OpenAI have pledged to combat misleading AI election content, while Jesse Dylan, Bob Dylan’s son, has produced two ads to raise awareness of the issue. The ads will run this spring in the battleground states.
The involvement of the Sussexes will revive doubts about Meghan’s political ambitions.
A representative for the duke and duchess did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com’s request for comment.
Both Joe Biden (left) and Donald Trump (right) have been victims of AI-generated deepfakes.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle spoke about politics in the 2020 presidential election
But there has been talk of Meghan’s ambitions since she and Harry emigrated from Britain during the ‘Megxit’ crisis, including claims that she would ‘seriously consider’ running for president if her husband gave up his royal title.
The couple also hired former advisers to Barack Obama for their foundation, fueling speculation about their political future.
And, a few years ago, a friend of the duchess told Vanity Fair magazine that one of the reasons Meghan didn’t renounce her American citizenship when she married into the Royal Family was to allow her to keep the option open. to enter politics.
He has already gotten involved in political issues.
The Duchess openly criticized the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and threatened to go to Washington DC to march in protests.
He also pressured members of Congress to pass mandatory paid parental leave, writing to then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Shumer, as well as cold calling senators to ask them to support the measure.
She signed her letters to lawmakers with her royal title: ‘Meghan, Duchess of Sussex.’
But, in 2020, the Sussexes were accused of “violating” the terms of the “Megxit” agreement after repeatedly urging Americans to vote in the presidential election.
In a video they posted online a few months before voters went to the polls, Harry and Meghan delivered a message that was widely interpreted as an endorsement of Joe Biden.
The Duke of Sussex urged people to “reject hate speech,” while the Duchess called it “the most important election of our lifetime,” urging Americans to go to the polls.
The comments caused a stir on both sides of the Atlantic although their spokespersons argued that their message was not directed at any candidate in particular but was the Sussexes’ way of expressing their concerns about the tone in politics.
Then-President Trump wished Harry luck in response.
“I’m not a fan of hers,” Trump said of Meghan. “I would say this, and she’s probably heard it: she wishes Harry the best of luck because she’s going to need it.”
Doubts have been raised about the Duke and Duchess’s political plans: top Prince Harry and Meghan Markle arrive at the United Nations headquarters in New York in July 2022
Some Republicans and critics of the couple have called on the Royal Family to withdraw their titles due to their interference in the US election – above Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge stand on the balcony of Buckingham Palace in July 2018 before leaving the Royal Family
Royal insiders expressed concern in Britain, where the royal family is expected to remain politically neutral at all times, with one saying Harry and Meghan had “crossed a line.”
Buckingham Palace also distanced itself from Harry’s comments, saying “the duke is not a working member of the royal family” and describing his comments as “made in his personal capacity.”
Although British law does not explicitly prohibit members of the royal family from voting, the expectation that royals remain apolitical is considered sacrosanct, and in practice they never participate in elections, whether by voting or otherwise.
After the incident, Congressman Jason Smith of Missouri sent a letter to the British ambassador to the United States asking that Meghan and Harry lose their titles.
‘As you know, the British Royal Family has long observed a policy of strict neutrality in political matters. “I am therefore concerned by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s recent comments regarding the US presidential election, especially given international conversations about foreign interference in our elections and the Duke’s status as a guest of the United States.” , he writes in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by DailyMail.com.
In 2020, Meghan Markle joined Gloria Steinem for a ‘backyard chat’ in which she indicated who she supported in the election.
King Charles controls Harry and Meghan’s titles but is acting on government advice, meaning it would be up to him to act against the couple, but he would likely only make such a move on advice from the prime minister’s office.
Also in the run-up to the 2020 election, feminist activist Gloria Steinem revealed that Markle had joined her in cold calling Americans and urging them to vote.
Steinem said Access Hollywood: ‘She came home to vote. The first thing we did, and the reason she came to see me, was we sat at the dining room table where I am now and cold called voters.’
‘He said ‘hi I’m Meg’ and ‘hi I’m Gloria’ and ‘are you going to vote?’ That was her initiative.’
Before marrying Prince Harry in 2018, Markle was no stranger to politics and ridiculed then-presidential candidate Donald Trump during a 2016 appearance on The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore.
He said Trump was “misogynistic and divisive” and indicated his support for Hillary Clinton.
Harry is a friend of former President Barack Obama and interviewed him on a guest episode of BBC Radio 4’s Today program in 2017.
“Part of my role and part of my job is to highlight the issues that need that attention, whether they’re people, causes, issues, whatever,” Harry said at the time.
“So I will continue to play my role in society and do my job to the best of my ability so that I can wake up in the morning and feel energized.”