"We are all going through a moment of reckoning"

Meghan Markle Advocates For Online Kindness At Virtual Most Powerful Women Summit

Meghan Markle has advocated for more online kindness during the virtual Most Powerful Women Summit on Tuesday. While speaking to Fortune's senior editor Ellen McGirt, Meghan talked about how we are living in a digital world in which "stories about her have spiraled out of control" and how we are going through a "reset" during the coronavirus pandemic.

Duchess Meghan (formerly Meghan Markle, 39) attended the virtual Most Powerful Women Summit on Tuesday and advocated for more online kindness while talking to Fortune's senior editor Ellen McGirt. The Duchess of Sussex is concerned about unreliable media coverage and described a world going through a "reset" during the coronavirus pandemic.

Meghan Markle: "We are all going through a moment of reckoning."

"We have got to all put our stock in something that is true, and we need to have reliable media and news sources that are telling us the truth…when you know something is wrong, report it, talk about it," Meghan said. She also talked about the the fact that online altercations influence our everyday lives.

"It's like we live in the future when you're talking about bots and trolls and all of these things," she continued. "It seems so fantastical, but that’s actually the current state of affairs and that is shaping how we interact with each other online and off — and that’s the piece that’s important. It is not just an isolated experience. It transcends into how you interact with anyone around you and certainly your own relationship with yourself."

Meghan also talked about how her one-year-old son Archie: "We are all going through a reset and we are all going through a moment of reckoning – and probably a reevaluation of what really matters. For me, it’s been amazing to spend time with my husband and watch our little one grow and that’s where our attention has been," the Duchess said.

Talking about her own experience with misinformation, the Duchess of Sussex said: "If you look back at anything I've said, what ends up being inflammatory is people's interpretation of it. But if you listen to what I actually say it's not controversial."

Fortune's virtual Most Powerful Women Summit is a three-day event that features "the preeminent women in business, along with select leaders in government, philanthropy, education, sports, and the arts, to explore our theme, 'Rising to the New Reality.'"