DealBook Summit: Prince Harry on His Murdoch Tabloid Fight and Big Tech
The New York Times | December 5, 2024
Host: Andrew Ross Sorkin
Guest: Prince Harry

Overview

This live episode from the DealBook Summit features Prince Harry in conversation with Andrew Ross Sorkin. The exchange focuses on Prince Harry's deeply personal and public battle with the British tabloid press, the pending lawsuit against Rupert Murdoch’s newspapers, the broader questions of media trust, misinformation, and the impact of big tech—especially social media—on public discourse and mental health. The conversation is candid, self-aware, and contextualizes Harry’s experience within global concerns over accountability and truth in today’s media landscape.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Prince Harry’s Formative Media Experience

Growing Up in the Spotlight

• From childhood, Prince Harry describes being the subject of intense (often inaccurate) press scrutiny, fueling lifelong questions about media trustworthiness.
• Quote: "I've seen stories written about myself that aren't exactly based on reality... you do find yourself questioning the validity of the information." — Prince Harry [03:17]
• The trauma surrounding his mother’s death in 1997 marked his first real confrontation with the power and harm of the media.

The Inner Turmoil and Feeling Helpless

• The intersection of personal grief and media coverage led to a profound sense of helplessness.
• Quote: "There becomes the inner turmoil... what’s happened to her, is that going to happen to me or... my family?" — Prince Harry [04:31]

2. Managing Mental Health and the Power of Therapy

• Therapy helped Harry "clean the windshield," granting clarity and coping strategies amid intense public scrutiny.
• Quote: "Therapy for me was a blessing because it was really what I would describe as cleaning the windshield." [07:24]
• He shares the importance of critical thinking and not engaging directly with negative press or social media.
• Advice: "Once you stop reading the stuff about yourself, you’ve automatically removed the power from their hands." [05:25]

3. The Murdoch Lawsuit: Fighting for Accountability

• Explains the upcoming UK trial over the phone hacking scandal involving Rupert Murdoch's tabloids.
• States the lawsuit’s core aim is accountability, not financial settlement.
• Quote: "One of the main reasons for seeing this through is accountability because I'm the last person that can actually achieve that." — Prince Harry [14:31]
• Describes systemic obstacles in the UK legal system that discourage claimants from pursuing justice.
• Outlines the scale of abuses (e.g., many claimants forced to settle; ongoing intimidation).

4. Media Ecosystem: From Tabloids to Social Media

Evolving Amplification of Falsehoods

• Discusses how lies in tabloids are now rapidly amplified by broadcast and social media, intensifying their impact.
• Quote: "What might seem trivial or small or just a blatant lie in a newspaper then gets carried over onto news channels, radio channels... it amplifies everything." [16:30]

5. Social Media, Accountability, and Safety

• Harry critiques big tech companies for lack of transparency and accountability, calling for industry-wide change.
• Quote: "Can I ask a question... Is it bizarre that this industry, social media, is able to have pretty much zero accountability and transparency and yet are able to make billions upon billions?" [20:16]
• The audience overwhelmingly agrees that social media companies should be held accountable.

Debate on Bans and Parental Safety

• Expresses skepticism about outright social media bans for children, warning of unintended consequences like exclusion and bullying.
• Advocates for “safety at the heart of design" rather than bans. [22:30]

Complexities of Content Moderation and Free Speech

• Sorkin and Harry discuss the evolving (and often contradictory) expectations around censorship, transparency, and free speech on social media.
• Harry emphasizes that free speech and essential safeguards are not mutually exclusive.
• Quote: "The moment that you start normalizing hate speech, aren’t you taking away free speech from so many other people?" [30:00]

6. The Business and Politics of Influence

• Harry suggests real accountability may rest with shareholders, not CEOs, as they control corporate priorities.
• Critiques both legacy and social media for redefining public interest/free speech to serve their economic interests. [27:02]

7. The Challenge of Fame and the Modern Monarchy

• Addresses the paradox of attention: understanding its necessity for causes versus the harm and distortion it brings to personal life.
• Quote: "We've apparently divorced maybe ten, twelve times as well... The people I feel most sorry about are the trolls who... it doesn’t happen, so I feel sorry for them." [33:05]

8. Life in the United States and Looking Forward

• Harry affirms his commitment to living in the US and raising his family there, reflecting on the life his mother wanted for him. [34:20]
• Expresses ongoing hope for eventual reconciliation and accountability, but is determined to "stick to his values" amid change.
• Quote: "...the thing I want to be known for is that no matter what was happening... he stuck to his values. And you always stay true to that." [37:33]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Reading About Yourself:
  "Never Google yourself." — Prince Harry [09:23]

• On Accountability in Media:
  "I will be damned if those journalists are going to ruin journalism for everybody else because we depend on it so much." — Prince Harry [12:50]

• On Social Media Companies:
  "It does seem very, very odd, especially when we know what happens when a small group of people make billions for themselves... without any accountability." [21:20]

• On the Role of Conversation:
  "Every complicated topic is squashed into a box [on social media]... The moment you strip away context, it just becomes a shouting match." [30:37]

• On Life Goals:
  "...the main goal... is being the best husband and the best dad that I can be." [36:21]

Important Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment/Topic | |-----------|-------------------------------------------------------------------| | 03:17 | Early experiences with false press | | 04:31 | Emotional impact of media and helplessness | | 07:24 | The value of therapy | | 09:23 | Never Google yourself | | 12:50 | The breadth/spectrum of journalistic integrity | | 14:31 | Motivation for the Murdoch lawsuit: accountability | | 16:30 | Amplification of tabloid lies via mainstream and social media | | 20:16 | Live audience poll on social media accountability | | 22:30 | On parental control and safety over outright tech bans | | 27:02 | The power of shareholders in influencing corporate behavior | | 30:00 | Free speech vs. hate speech | | 33:05 | Public interest vs. personal harm: the paradox of fame | | 34:20 | Ongoing security lawsuit and life in the US | | 36:21 | What Harry wants to be known for |

Conclusion

This episode sees Prince Harry reflect—sometimes with humor, often with insight—on his struggle for personal agency in a relentless media landscape, his efforts to pursue accountability through historic lawsuits, and his advocacy for healthier digital environments. He urges critical thinking, transparency, and the centering of human values in both policy and personal life, closing with a determination to remain true to his principles above all else.