British tabloids harass Meghan Markle
Prince Harry's wife is constantly criticized in the tabloid press, amid gossip and reckless analysis of her personality
British tabloids talk almost daily about Meghan Markle, Prince Harry's wife, and if they did so in positive tones before their wedding, they are now often critical of some gossip and even some kind of conspiracy theory about her pregnancy. Among the things they have talked about in recent days is an interview with actor George Clooney, a friend of Markle and one of the guests at the wedding with Prince Harry, published last week in the Australian magazine WHO. Clooney denied that he will be godfather to Markle and the prince's baby, one of several rumors about the couple, and complained about the treatment of Markle in the press:
“I mean one thing: they are chasing her everywhere, they persecute her and denigrate her. She is a seven months pregnant woman and is being persecuted and vilified in the same way Diana was, her story is repeating itself. We have seen how it ends ».
Clooney also cited the recent publication of a letter written by Markle - who is American and of mixed ethnicity - to her father, with whom she has complicated relationships: the tabloids spread it asking self-styled graphology experts - a technique without scientific basis. which is used to deduce a person's personality traits from the way he writes - to make a judgment on Markle. One of these graphologists defined Markle as "emotionally insecure", "short-tempered" and "unable to forgive", while another saw in her handwriting the characteristics of an "exhibitionist and narcissistic" person. Still another concluded that for Markle it is "impossible to forget the important people in her life". "He's really being misbehaved, I think it's irresponsible and I'm amazed this is happening," Clooney commented.
In the latest issue of the Observer, the Sunday of the Guardian, columnist Catherine Bennett in turn criticized the media attention received by Markle, calling "tormenting the Duchess of Sussex" the new "national sport", "limited only by supply of new material ». Following the "Leveson Inquiry", an investigation promoted by the UK government on the practice and ethics of the national press launched after a major scandal over the use of wiretapping and private documents by the tabloid News of the World, the newspapers Brits have settled on the scandalous content, but not enough according to Bennett: they continue to harass famous people and members of the royal family in particular, they only do it in a different way than in the past.
The code of ethics of the Independent Press Standards Organization (IPSO), the independent body founded after the Leveson inquiry to regulate journalistic practices in the UK, says that journalists cannot "intimidate, harass or persecute" the people they refer to. they write or even "insist on asking questions, calling, following or taking pictures after being asked to stop," but it does not prevent disturbing or distressing a person through the judgments of alleged psychologists such as graphologists. It does not prevent intrusive speculation or free insulting comments.
After George Clooney's recent statements, many journalists who write about the royal family in the tabloids (but also in the Times newspaper) took it out on Markle just because she had been compared to Diana Spencer, Prince Harry's mother and the subject of huge and often unsavory media attention before and after his death. They also criticized Clooney as not being a true friend of Markle and Prince Harry, according to them.
Even according to Bennett, Clooney's comparison between Markle and Diana is not entirely accurate, but not because the former does not deserve to be placed on the same level as the latter as has been written by others. In fact, Spencer repeatedly exploited the press to his advantage, agreeing with some journalists to publish certain news. On the contrary, Markle has so far not contributed to the spread of gossip about her and yet the British press treats her "as someone about whom any malice can be said, regardless of accuracy, public interest and the possible effects of this. pay attention to his health ».
On Twitter Sunday, Bennett also criticized the BBC site for an article on Markle: it is not a tabloid article, but devotes more than a thousand words to an analysis of Markle's accent. According to some experts, the pronunciation of Prince Harry's wife has become more British over time.
