Meghan Markle celebrates a great victory for herself and other people who have been attacked by the British tabloids. On December 26, 2021, #MeghanMarkleWon started trending after the Duchess of Sussex received a printed public apology from Mail on Sunday. The front page apology came 10 months after Mark Warby, a London Supreme Court judge, ruled it Mail on Sunday invaded Megan’s privacy by publishing a private letter she sent to her father, Thomas Markle, in 2018.
“The Duchess of Sussex is winning her copyright infringement lawsuit against Associated Newspapers for articles published in The Mail on Sunday and posted on Mail Online,” the front page read. “Following a hearing on 19-20 January 2021 and a further hearing on 5 May 2021, the court has ruled in favor of the Duchess of Sussex on her allegation of copyright infringement,” the rest of the apology on page three continued. “The court found that the Associated Newspapers infringed her copyright by publishing excerpts of her handwritten letter to her father in Mail on Sunday and on Mail Online. Financial resources have been agreed. “
In addition to the apology, People reported on January 5 that Meghan will receive a token £ 1 ($ 1.36) in compensation from Mail on Sunday and the publication is legally obligated to pay 90 percent of her $ 1.88 million legal expenses. The symbolic £ 1 was given to her in connection with the privacy requirement. The newspaper will also pay an undisclosed amount for violating Meghan’s copyright by publishing portions of the letter she wrote to her father.
Back in December, Meghan issued a statement acknowledging her victory against the Associated Newspapers. “This is a victory not only for me, but for anyone who has ever felt afraid to stand up for the right thing,” she wrote. “While this victory is precedent, the most important thing is that we are now collectively brave enough to reshape a tabloid industry that forces people to be cruel and profit from the lies and pain they create.”
“This is a victory, not only for me, but for anyone who has ever felt afraid to stand up for what is right.”
She continued: “From day one, I have treated this lawsuit as an important measure of right versus wrong. Defendants have treated it like a game without rules. The longer they dragged it out, the more they could distort facts and manipulate in public (even during the appeal itself), to make a straightforward case extraordinarily complicated to generate more headlines and sell more newspapers – a model that rewards chaos over the truth.In the almost three years since this began, I have been patient in the face of deception, intimidation and calculated attacks. “
Fans celebrate Meghan’s victory with the hashtag #MeghanMarkleWon. “if you see #MeghanMarkleWon then you know the Daily Mail gave up hardcore. Meghan Markle is an example of fighting to win the right thing, “wrote one user.” Waking up to see it the team has #MeghanMarkleWon trending and I live! Daily Fail tried to hide the news, but not on #Sussexsquad’s watch! “, Shared another user.
On February 11, 2021, the Duchess of Sussex shared a first statement after winning her privacy case against the Associated Newspapers, which owns Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday. “After two long years of prosecuting, I’m grateful to the courts for holding the Associated Newspapers and Mail on Sunday to account for their illegal and dehumanizing practices, “Meghan’s statement began.” These tactics (and those of their sister publications MailOnline and Daily Mail) are not new; in fact, they have been going on for far too long with no consequence. For these businesses, it’s a game. For me and so many others, it’s real life, real relationships and very real grief. The damage they have done and continue to do is profound. “
“We all lose when misinformation sells more than truth.”
She continued her statement by emphasizing that “the world needs reliable, high-quality, fact-checked news,” adding: “We all lose when misinformation sells more than truth, when moral exploitation sells more than decency, and when companies create their business. model to take advantage of people’s pain. ” That said, she considers “this far-reaching gain on both privacy and copyright” to be a win-win for everyone. “We now know, and hope it creates legal precedent, that one cannot take anyone’s privacy and exploit it in a privacy case, as the defendant has openly done over the past two years.”
She ended her statement by saying that she shares this victory “with each of you – because we all deserve justice and truth, and we all deserve better.” She went on to thank her husband, Prince Harry, her mother, Doria Ragland, and her legal team, including Jenny Afia, “for her tireless support throughout this process.”
Following their resignation from the British royal family in January 2020, Megan and Harry severed ties with several British tabloids. In April 2020, the couple sent a letter to the editorial staff of The sun, Daily mail, Daily Mirror, and Daily Express, saying they refuse to “offer themselves as currency for an economy with clickbait and distortion” and want “zero engagement” with the publications. Since then, the couple has moved to California, where they have put their main focus on their nonprofit organization Archewell.
