What to Know
Critics of Meghan Markle always have something to say about her, so of course, people have opinions about her social media habits. Meghan has long been criticized for sharing details from her personal life on social media, including photos of her children, after previously taking a break from social media and saying she wanted more privacy. Of course, Meghan is no stranger to public scrutiny, and it makes sense that she wants to protect her family from that.
She has also advocated for stronger protections for children online and talked about the dangers of social media. “Be an example in your own social media use of how to be intentional in every like, comment, post, and share,” she said during a recent speech in Switzerland. When it comes to her own social media use, people have criticized her for obscuring her children’s faces in the photos she shares. At the same time, critics have also criticized her for sharing photos of her kids at all.
And now, her rep has weighed in.
A spokesperson for Meghan explained that sharing photos of her children in the way that she does is not hypocritical: she is being intentional about what she posts, and she is choosing to protect her children by not showing their faces on social media.
“The Duchess has always been clear that there is a distinction between sharing moments from her life and exposing her children to public scrutiny,” a spokesperson told Newsweek. “By obscuring their faces, she is demonstrating the very principle she advocates for: giving children privacy, agency, and protection in an increasingly digital world.”
The rep said Meghan’s behavior on social media is consistent with what she has advocated for.
Sure, Meghan shares some details from her personal life on social media. But as her rep explained, Meghan did not advocate for abandoning social media entirely; instead, she urged parents and policymakers to do more to protect children online.
“Far from being contradictory, by concealing their faces she is actually reflecting the message she delivered in Geneva: that parents can choose to share family experiences while still taking deliberate steps to protect identities, privacy, and digital footprint,” the spokesperson added.
But some critics didn’t love this explanation. “If you want to make your big philanthropic cause ‘social media harms children’ but then you turn around and use images of your own minor children to drive engagement to your for-profit business it’s going to come across as dumb and hypocritical even if you’re trying to split the ridiculous hair of ‘well I don’t show their whole faces all at once!'” one critic argued on Reddit.
Someone else said, “I sort of agree with her, because she doesn’t show their faces…except she uses the kids (presumably) to drive engagement and that makes the statement feel very hollow.”
Meghan recently faced criticism due to a celebratory birthday post for her daughter.
In one image, her husband, Prince Harry, held their daughter, Lilibet. The second image showed Lilibet alone in nature. Lilibet’s face was not visible in either photo and the caption was not at all detailed (All she wrote was, “Our dream girl. Happy 5th birthday, Lili 🤍”), but some critics still accused Meghan of being hypocritical.
They argued that if Meghan wants to protect her kids from scrutiny, she doesn’t have to share any photos or details online.
“It’s so performative and attention-seeking,” one person wrote on Reddit. “If you really value your privacy and want to shield your children from the public eye, then simply stop posting photos of them on social media every 5 minutes.”
However, some people were far less critical. “I really really appreciate that they don’t post their kids’ faces,” someone else said.
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