Is British media coverage of Meghan really harsher than that of Kate?

So with Megexit, Buzzfeed is predictably stirring the pot with an article titled Meghan Markle And Prince Harry UK Royal Reporters Coverage Compared To Kate Middleton And Prince William (also titled "Here Are 20 Headlines Comparing Meghan Markle To Kate Middleton That May Show Why She And Prince Harry Are Cutting Off Royal Reporters"), claiming that "Over the years, Meghan has been shamed for the same things for which her sister-in-law, Kate, has been praised."

Of course, even looking at the excerpts Buzzfeed has provided, in more than half the cases (and I'm being generous here), it's clear that an apple to apple comparison is not being made.

I got sufficiently annoyed by this article (due to multiple people sharing it, and one person flinging it in my face and getting upset when I pointed out the comparisons were misleading), so here I am doing a full rundown of all 20 items. Basically Buzzfeed is fake news in its allegations of hypocrisy; the differing media treatments of Kate and Meghan in these examples are well-merited. 6 out of these 10 pairs of articles are fake news, and 4 are misleading. It's strange how those who condemn British "tabloids" as unreliable would approve of Buzzfeed's variety of yellow journalism, which is far slimier.

And this is ignoring the fact that even if articles come from 2 different publications, if they don't have the same writer (as most of these pairs don't) it doesn't indicate hypocrisy (a defence I have heard for liberal inconsistency, e.g. in praising the electoral college when Obama was President but condemning it when Trump got elected).

Items:

1) Baby Bump Coverage

Buzzfeed Claim: The Daily Mail loves Kate's touching her baby bump, but is critical of Meghan's touching hers

Reality: The Kate article is about how Kate was touching her baby bump on one occasion. The Meghan article is about Meghan touching hers all the time, and from the photos and video thumbnails she is seen touching hers at 19 different occasions - versus one in the Kate article

Verdict: Fake news

2) Avocado for morning sickness

Buzzfeed Claim: William was given an avocado for Kate's morning sickness. But Meghan is shamed for liking avocados as they're linked to human rights abuse and drought.

Reality: Clearly, being given one avocado by someone else is different from liking avocados yourself. If Kate really liked avocados, it would be even less newsworthy that she received one from a well-wisher; for all we know, she didn't even eat the avocado (perhaps even because she's aware of their downsides). In contrast Meghan made avocado toast and said avocado and chili dip was a favourite of hers. Plus, Meghan wants to be the Queen of Woke, so it's very appropriate that she's hoist on her own petard.

Verdict: Fake news

3) Spending Christmas with the Family

Buzzfeed Claim: Kate spends Christmas with her side of the family and isn't condemned. Meghan does the same and is slammed.

Reality: As the Kate article notes, the previous time they did this (due to morning sickness), "they re-joined the family at the Queen’s 20,000-acre Norfolk estate for Prince Philip’s traditional Boxing Day pheasant shoot and it is likely they will do the same this year". On the other hand, Meghan boycotted the pheasant shoot the previous year.

Plus, snubbing the Christmas gathering in the context of family tensions (which are so bad that they're well known publicly - as the offending article notes) is different from not attending when there's no (known) bad blood.

Verdict: Misleading

4) Setting up a company

Buzzfeed Claim: Kate and William set up a company and response was muted. Meghan and Harry did the same and were condemned.

Reality: Kate and William named their companies CE Strathearn and APL Anglesey respectively. Meghan and Harry's is called Sussex Royal.

The former are clearly trying to be at least somewhat discreet, whereas the latter are shamelessly trying to flog their brand (they are the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, and "Royal" draws attention to their being royalty.

Furthermore, Kate and William's companies were created to be dormant (at least for the foreseeable future). Whereas Meghan and Harry trademarked their brand on more than 100 pieces of merchandise, so they are clearly looking to sell swag with their brand name on it.

Verdict: Fake news

5) Stiff upper lip

Buzzfeed Claim: William slammed the stiff upper lip tradition and was sympathetically received. Harry did the same and was criticised.

Reality: William was talking about daring to talk about your feelings - but didn't advocate telling the whole world about them in public interviews. Harry and Meghan bitched about how bad their lives were to the press.

Verdict: Misleading

6) Scents

Buzzfeed Claim: Kate ordered scented candles and this was viewed neutrally. Meghan was slammed for wanting her scents at her wedding.

Reality: Kate got "candles, handwashes and lotions", "for use inside the Abbey and for wedding guests using the royal bathroom and additional six VIP bathrooms".

Whereas Meghan wanted to use air fresheners, deployed by "atomisers – hand-held devices for spraying water or perfume".

Scented candles are clearly an order of magnitude away from spraying scents all over the place.

Verdict: Misleading

7) Flowers

Buzzfeed Claim: Kate used flowers including lily of the valley in her bridal bouquet and was praised. Meghan used lily of the valley in her wedding and got slammed

Reality: Kate used lily of the valley in *her bouquet*. But Meghan put this flower in her bridesmaids’ flower crowns. Her bridesmaids included children, many aged 2 or 3 years old.

Obviously Kate would only have endangered her bridesmaids and/or children if she had shoved the bouquet in their faces (and she very responsibly declined to put anyone's life at risk by tossing her bouquet).

Verdict: Fake news

8) Christening

Buzzfeed Claim: The Queen missed both Louis and Archie's christenings but Meghan and Harry were blamed for not checking her calendar

Reality: The Meghan article informs us that the Sussexes had not checked calendars before deciding on their date. The Kate article doesn't mention this. Although of course this is a possibility, we cannot make wild assumptions just to make Kate look as bad as Meghan. So based on what we know, the press framing is legitimate (especially since there was a schedule clash with Charles too).

Verdict: Misleading

9) Dress code

Buzzfeed Claim: Kate coordinated her outfit with the Queen and was praised. Meghan refused to wear a hat to an event despite being told to do so and got criticised.

Reality: Even from Buzzfeed's framing it's clear this comparison is rubbish. Why are they even trying to claim inconsistency here?

Verdict: Fake news

10) Fashion

Buzzfeed Claim: Kate is fashionable and gets lauded. Meghan is fashion royalty and gets slammed.

Reality: The Kate article is about her stylish dress sense. The Meghan one is not about her fashion sense, but about her poor Royal PR skills, her guest editing Vogue, and publishing an Editor's Letter dissing the British Monarchy, betraying a contempt for common people and a lack of understanding of how royalty are meant to behave.

Verdict: Fake news


In short, Buzzfeed has hit a new low in trying to whip up the mob on false pretenses.