- Netflix's trailers for Meghan and Prince Harry's docuseries have been called misleading by journalists and critics.
- They include several photos of paparazzi, which suggest the photographers are swarming the couple.
Netflix is facing criticism after two trailers for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's forthcoming docuseries, "Harry & Meghan," included out-of-context and seemingly unrelated paparazzi shots.
The streaming company, which announced its partnership with Harry and Meghan in 2020, released a teaser for the docuseries on Thursday, containing previously unreleased images of the couple as well as images of paparazzi, who it's implied are doggedly following the couple.
British newspaper The Sun initially reported that an image used in the first trailer, thought to be of photographers capturing the couple at a royal event, was actually of photographers at the "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part Two" movie premiere in 2011.
Representatives for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex along with Netflix did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
The image of the photographers can be seen at the 30-second timestamp.
"I had to do everything I could to protect my family," Harry can be heard saying after the contested image appears on screen, which could be interpreted by viewers as the prince implying that he wanted to protect them from the press.
The Sun photographer Doug Seeburg, who can be seen in the original photo, told the publication that there were no members of the royal family in attendance at the event.
"In the Netflix trailer, it's implied the photographers, including me, were trying to get a shot of the royal couple — but that's nonsense," Seeburg told The Sun.
"For a picture from that premiere to turn up in this trailer about Harry and Meghan seems like lazy picture research," he added.
Nonetheless, Harry and Meghan's privacy and safety were at considerable risk while they were living in the UK, according to Metropolitan Police assistant commissioner Neil Basu.
Basu, former head of counter-terrorism for the force, told Channel 4 News in November that there were investigations into the threats made against the couple, and that some individuals had been prosecuted.
In the documentary "The Me You Can't See" that first aired in May 2021, Harry said he feared for Meghan's life because of how the paparazzi's harassment led to his mother Princess Diana's death.
"History was repeating itself," Harry said in the documentary. "My mother was chased to her death while she was in a relationship with someone who wasn't white, and now look what's happened. You want to talk about history repeating itself? They're not gonna stop until she dies."
A follow-up docuseries trailer was released on Monday, and it was quickly criticized by journalists as well.
—Netflix (@netflix) December 5, 2022
Robert Jobson, royal editor at the Evening Standard, wrote on Twitter Monday that an image shown in the second trailer is misleading.
Jobson said the image was taken by an accredited press pool, which he was part of at Archbishop Tutu's residence in Cape Town, South Africa, during Harry and Meghan's visit in 2019.
—Robert Jobson (@theroyaleditor) December 5, 2022
"This photograph used by @Netflix and Harry and Meghan to suggest intrusion by the press is a complete travesty," Jobson wrote.
"Only 3 people were in the accredited position. H & M agreed the position. I was there," he added.
Also shown in the second trailer is a video clip of photographers swarming a vehicle thought to be Harry and Meghan's. As Buzzfeed News' Ellie Hall reports, the video is actually of Michael Cohen, a one-time lawyer to former President Donald Trump, getting into a vehicle to be transported to prison on May 6, 2019.
The clip can be seen at the 44-second timestamp and again at the 50-second timestamp, right before a video of Princess Diana shielding her face from cameras.
A separate video shown at the 49-second timestamp also appears to be unrelated to the royal couple. The footage was actually taken of photographers outside a UK court as model Katie Price arrived to be sentenced for drunk driving on December 15, 2021, Hall reports.
Netflix confirmed that "Harry & Meghan," would be released in two parts, with Volume I airing on December 8, and Volume II airing on December 15.