One TV personality was forced to apologize on-air after claiming that Meghan Markle’s mother was in jail while she was a child, an untrue conspiracy theory commonly peddled by racist trolls online.
During the December 4 episode of Britain’s Newsroom, GB News contributor Carole Malone said that the Duchess of Sussex’s mother Doria Ragland “was in jail” while Thomas Markle raised her.
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Malone was commenting on rumors that the Duchess had not spoken to her father after he had emergency surgery in the Philippines—rumors that also ended up being untrue.
The U.K.’s government media agency Ofcom, which is similar to the FCC in America, received a staggering number of complaints about the segment and is “currently assessing the complaints to determine whether to launch a full investigation,” according to Deadline.
Malone was later forced to apologize on air several weeks later for pushing the conspiracy theory.
“In an episode of Britain’s Newsroom on Thursday, December the 4th, 2025, I stated that Thomas Markle, the Duchess of Sussex’s father, brought Meghan up while her mother, Doria Ragland, was in prison,” she said. “I believed this to be the case based on what I now understand to be misinformation I had seen online. I was questioned about the validity of this claim during the broadcast and I repeated this belief, which I now understand to be false.”
She then “apologized sincerely” to Markle’s mother “for any pain my comments may have caused, and I’m happy to set the record straight.”
“This was a genuine error. I accept what I have been told on behalf of Ms. Ragland — that she raised her daughter and that she has never been in prison or jail,” she said.
Malone is a regular figure on GB News, which has become a major news outlet for the country since its launch in 2021.
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