Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Colombia tour will begin with a focus on the negative impact of social media

 

—but the subject repeats the “whiny activities that the two do,” a PR expert told Newsweek.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will be hoping for a wave of positive PR

when they touch down in the capital Bogotá on Thursday and are greeted by Vice President Francia Márquez and her partner, Yerney Pinillo.

 

Harry and Meghan have every reason to expect an emphatic welcome after the red carpet was rolled out for them in Nigeria in May.

However, Eric Schiffer, chair of Reputation Management Consultants,

 

told Newsweek a key theme of the visit could drag the couple back into the negative messaging that characterized much of their first few post-royal years in America.

The first day of the visit will see the couple visit a school for an “Insight Session” about the impact of the digital world on young people.

“No one’s going to care in the United States,” Schiffer said. “This is a snooze fest in the United States, and frankly it looks like a continued piece of evidence in the kind of whiny activities that the two do.

“They’re doing this because they have felt picked on themselves; they just can’t let it go,” Schiffer added.

 

He said the Sussexes may have inspired some of the social-media trolling the couple have experienced through the bombshell allegations they have made against the royals.

“To really get their reputation back, it requires them to have thicker skin and move past the pain, which, in large part, was created by Harry and his wife,” Schiffer said.

“The controversy that they have created led to the digital barrage. That’s modern-day life, and their attempts to reform digital free speech that may get aggressive is like trying to have the sun go away.

“What it does for many in the United States is have them seem thin-skinned,” Schiffer said.

 

The tour follows on from an interview Meghan and Harry gave to CBS Sunday Morning, in which the duchess was asked by Jane Pauley about her past experiences of suicidal thoughts.

Meghan said she wasn’t expecting the question but added: “I understand why you are [asking]. Because there is a through line I think, and when you’ve been through any level of pain or trauma, I believe part of our healing journey, certainly part of mine, is being able to be really open about it.”

The duchess added that there was more she could say: “You know, I haven’t really scraped the surface on my experience.”

Schiffer said: “She is telegraphing with a cannon blast that there is more to drop, and the message is, ‘This is where the money is’ ultimately, and she knows this is what people care about.

 

“The fact they are continuing with the digital protection routine is reminding people they were victimized. They can’t seem to let go of the victimization economics.”

Schiffer said the tour could play a role in connecting them to young people but added that the impact would be low.

“This is a further flex for them to show their ongoing commitment to empowering young people to have a more healthy digital experience and protecting the mental health and psyche of those affected and, in the process, use themselves as examples of being victims,” Schiffer added.

“It is a way for them to do social work and help people and, at the same time, perhaps fight back against the perceived savagery of the media.

“Is this going to have an impact on the digital side? Very low. But it’s required work if they’re going to be credible in their larger campaign,” Schiffer said.

“But, from an impact standpoint, this will have a ridiculously low impact overall, but it’s required in the continued campaign to get the word out. But will it change public policy? No. Will it educate some people? It may.”