Even when Meghan Sussex has absolutely nothing to do with a story, some media outlets still cannot resist making her the face of it. This time, the Associated Press is being called out by Threads users after using a photograph of Meghan Sussex to illustrate a report about her estranged father, Thomas Markle Sr., being sent back to federal custody.

The 82-year-old is facing a federal charge involving possession of child sexual abuse material. On 10 November, a judge revoked his pretrial release after finding that he had violated his ankle-monitoring conditions. Thomas has not been convicted of the underlying charge.

So, naturally, whose photograph did AP initially use to promote the story? Meghan’s. Not the man facing criminal charges. Not the man who allegedly removed his court-ordered ankle monitor. His estranged daughter, who has not been accused of any wrongdoing. Social media users noticed, and they were not having it.

Threads Users Push Back Against AP

Threads users quickly called out AP for using Meghan’s photograph in a story about her father’s criminal case. They questioned why the news agency chose to put her face alongside allegations that had absolutely nothing to do with her.

Black British Culture and Being Black Is Lit amplified the criticism on Instagram, crediting the Threads community with pushing AP to replace Meghan’s photograph with Thomas Markle’s booking photo.

Screenshots show the two versions side by side: the original post featuring Meghan and a subsequent version featuring Thomas. AP has not publicly explained the change or confirmed that the backlash prompted it.

View on Threads

But why did AP choose Meghan’s photograph in the first place?

One user called the decision a serious failure of journalism and accused AP of unfairly targeting Meghan. Others criticised the media’s habit of dragging her into controversies involving relatives she hasn’t spoken to in years.

The fact that readers had to challenge a major international news agency over something so basic speaks volumes.

Meghan Is Not Responsible for Her Father’s Alleged Crimes

Let’s not pretend the media struggled to find a photograph of Thomas Markle. The press has spent years interviewing him, putting him on television and giving him a platform to attack his daughter. They helped make him a public figure, so why suddenly act as though readers wouldn’t recognise him?

And spare us the excuse that Meghan is more famous. King Charles is arguably more recognisable than Andrew, yet news organisations don’t routinely use Charles’s photograph to illustrate reports about his brother’s scandals.

We believe racism plays a role here. AP chose a Black woman’s photograph to accompany serious criminal allegations against her white father, despite her having absolutely nothing to do with his case. We refuse to dismiss that decision as an innocent editorial mistake.

Think about what people saw while scrolling through their feeds: Meghan’s face alongside a headline about child sexual abuse material. Before readers even opened the article, AP had already linked her image to allegations against someone else. A major international news agency should know better.

We’ve criticised this treatment of Meghan since the allegations against Thomas first emerged. She has been estranged from him for years, yet the media continues dragging her into his scandals.

Thomas Markle faces the criminal charges. Put his photograph alongside the story, not his daughter’s.

Why Does Meghan Face a Different Standard From Andrew’s Daughters?

Can we talk about the double standards? When scandals involving Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson make headlines, we don’t routinely see Princess Beatrice or Princess Eugenie’s photographs plastered across stories about their parents. The press understands that children should not answer for their parents’ conduct. So why does that courtesy disappear when it comes to Meghan?

And unlike the York princesses, who have maintained a relationship with their father, Meghan has been estranged from Thomas Markle since 2018. She has also explained that keeping him away from her children was about protecting her family.

We’ve already documented this double standard. In November 2025, Semafor reported that Vanity Fair editor-in-chief Mark Guiducci questioned whether Beatrice and Eugenie needed to appear in an article examining their mother Sarah Ferguson’s correspondence with Jeffrey Epstein. The magazine ultimately mentioned them only in passing, although Vanity Fair disputed claims that editors had removed references to the princesses.

Think about that. One newsroom reportedly debated whether Andrew’s adult daughters belonged in the story at all, while AP used Meghan’s photograph to illustrate criminal allegations against her estranged father.

Nobody is blaming Beatrice or Eugenie for their parents’ conduct, nor should they. So why won’t the media extend Meghan that same consideration? It’s remarkable how quickly journalistic standards change depending on which royal daughter the press chooses to target.

The Media’s Double Standards Are Becoming Impossible to Ignore

What concerns us most is the media’s determination to drag Meghan into every development involving her estranged father, regardless of the damage such relentless scrutiny can cause. Nobody is asking journalists to stop reporting the news. But there is a difference between holding someone accountable for their own actions and repeatedly making an innocent person the target of public hostility.

And the racism is impossible to ignore. Look at Sky News and its selective approach to comment moderation. The outlet left comments open on a post about Meghan’s reported emotional distress following her father’s arrest, allowing hundreds of people to weigh in on her wellbeing.

Meanwhile, Sky News disabled replies to its post about Russell Brand, who received a 10-year-and-six-month prison sentence for rape and sexual assault. It also switched off comments on a post about Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor being ordered to give evidence as a witness in a fraud trial.

So Sky News knows exactly where the button to disable comments is. They found it for Russell Brand and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, but somehow couldn’t extend that same courtesy to Meghan, a Black woman already dealing with the fallout from her estranged father’s arrest.

And we’re supposed to believe race plays no role in this double standard? Sky News closed the comment sections for two white men but left Meghan’s emotional distress open for public scrutiny. We’d love to hear the outlet explain why it made those choices.

Meghan Faces the Scrutiny While Newsrooms Ignore Their Own Double Standards

News organisations with massive reach know how to restrict abusive commentary when they choose to. So why is that consideration so inconsistent when Meghan is involved?

Between AP using Meghan’s photograph to illustrate her father’s criminal case and Sky News leaving its comment section open for people to discuss her emotional wellbeing, we’re seeing editorial decisions that deserve serious scrutiny.

Meghan is not responsible for Thomas Markle’s alleged crimes, and the media needs to stop treating her as though she is. She has spent years distancing herself from her father, yet news organisations continue dragging her into his scandals.

Thomas Markle is facing criminal charges. Meghan is not. Why is that distinction so difficult for some newsrooms to respect?

Discover more from Feminegra

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.