Who Trolled Amber? - Introducing: Hoaxed

Episode Date: September 4, 2023

In 2014, two children told police a shocking story: that they were being abused by a Satanic cult; a cult headed by their father and by parents and teachers at their school in the wealthy London suburb of Hampstead. The story was a lie. But on the internet, that didn't matter. From the team who brought you Sweet Bobby, Hoaxed is an investigation into one of Britain's most serious-ever conspiracy theories. A story about a modern-day Satanic panic; about the victims whose lives were destroyed and about the conspiracists who spread the lie around the world. Oh, and it's about our hunt for the perpetrators - the people who forced the kids to lie - the ones who started it all. Listen to the full series today. For the premium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists, download the free Tortoise audio app. For early and ad-free access to all our investigative series and daily and weekly shows, subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts.If you’d like to further support slow journalism and help us build a different kind of newsroom, do consider donating to Tortoise at tortoisemedia.com/support-us. Your contributions allow us to investigate, campaign and explore, and to build a newsroom that is responsible and sustainable. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is the story of a lie. An incredibly disturbing video went viral over the weekend. A lie started by two innocent children, which spread across the internet like wildfire. The thing with the tattoos, those tattoos were in places a child should never see them. A lie which brought the satanic panic back to our shores and destroyed the lives of its victims. They said, I'm the leader of a satanic sex cult,

a paedophile ring. I'm Alexi Mostras, investigations editor at Tortoise, and this is my new podcast, Hoaxed. It's about the most serious British conspiracy theory in years, the people behind it. I'm a system analyst. I used to diagnose software at CERN in Geneva. The places it's reached.

Be careful, because the tentacles of this go right to the heart of the British establishment. And my hunt for the couple who started it all, who have never been tracked down until now. I have just got a message and I think that she's on to us.