The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, arrived in Colombia for a four-day visit, honoring an invitation from the Vice President of Colombia, Francia Márquez.
Harry and meghan began their visit to the South American country despite royal reporters throwing tantrums about the visit, terming Colombia dangerous despite other royals visiting the country in the previous years.
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Vice President Márquez welcomed them and praised them for championing a better, safer digital future and mental health landscape for children and the world.
In their first engagement, the couple visited a school in Bogotá and engaged students in discussions about social media's impact and the damage that the spread of false information can cause.
“What happens online within a matter of minutes transfers to the streets. People are acting on information that isn’t true," Harry said.
The Duke expressed concerns that many people felt "scared and uncertain" about AI's potential impact, emphasizing that "education and awareness" would be crucial for addressing misinformation. He noted that distinguishing between truth and falsehood was increasingly vital and remarked that those in influential positions would assume greater responsibility in an ideal scenario.
He pointed out that the debate was no longer about facts. He warned that as long as individuals were permitted to spread lies, abuse, and harassment, social cohesion would continue to deteriorate.
Their visit comes barely a week after an outburst of riots and violence against people of color after the tragic murder of three little girls. The suspect in the brutal murders was identified as 17-year-old Axel Rudakubana.