We are honored to have Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex and co-founder the Archewell Foundation which is raising awareness around the root causes of some of the world's most pressing challenges, including across the online world. pic.twitter.com/Q58xSu6eYC— Vivian Schiller (@vivian) March 24, 2021
March 24 (UPI) -- Prince Harry has joined the Aspen Institute's new Commission on Information Disorder as a commissioner.
The 36-year-old duke of Sussex and 17 others will conduct a six-month study on combating misinformation and disinformation in America.
Aspen Digital executive director Vivian Schiller shared the news Wednesday on Twitter.
"We are honored to have Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex and co-founder the Archewell Foundation which is raising awareness around the root causes of some of the world's most pressing challenges, including across the online world," she wrote.
Journalist Katie Couric, Color of Change President Rashad Robinson and Chris Krebs, the former director of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, will serve as co-chairs of the commission.
"In today's media landscape, consumers face a constant barrage of content that reinforces their established viewpoints. Powered by algorithms and shared ideologies, people often get affirmation instead of information, where facts are manipulated if not completely ignored," Couric said in a press release.
"This 'truth decay' is a tremendous threat, not only to a well-informed electorate, but to democracy itself. With commentary increasingly replacing reporting, polarization has deepened and trust in media has declined," she added. "It's critically important that we figure out how our industry can be part of the solution, and I hope to bring that perspective as co-chair of the Aspen Commission on Information Disorder."
The commission will begin meetings in April and hold a series of briefings with a range of experts. About 60 days in, the group will publish an interim report that "surveys and frames the information disorder problem, and prioritizes the most critical and urgent issues."
Harry has taken on a number of new projects since leaving the British royal family in 2020. On Tuesday, he was named as chief impact officer of BetterUp, a Silicon Valley startup which provides mobile-based mental health services and counseling.
In addition, Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, started the production company Archewell and signed deals with both Netflix and Spotify.
Harry and Markle spoke to Oprah Winfrey during a bombshell interview that aired this month on CBS. The couple discussed how racism toward Markle, who is biracial, partly drove them from the United Kingdom.
