Who Trolled Amber? - Introducing: Who Trolled Amber?

Episode Date: February 20, 2024

Introducing… Who Trolled Amber?What comes to mind when you think of Amber Heard? Liar? Survivor? Narcissist? Millions of us watched the celebrity trial of the century, Depp v Heard, in 2022. Amber Heard lost and Johnny Depp was vindicated. But what if Amber was actually the victim of an organised trolling campaign? What if the online hate against her was manufactured?Alexi Mostrous, the reporter who brought you Sweet Bobby and Hoaxed, investigates what happened to Amber and who might have been responsible. It’s a story about how our own thoughts and opinions can be moulded without us even realising.Who Trolled Amber is released on 27 February. To listen to the whole series become a Tortoise member or subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts. To find out more about Tortoise:Download the Tortoise app - for a listening experience curated by our journalistsSubscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free contentBecome a member and get access to all of Tortoise's premium audio offerings and moreIf you want to get in touch with us directly about a story, or tell us more about the stories you want to hear about contact [e-mail] and host: Alexi MostrousProducer and reporter: Xavier GreenwoodEditor: David TaylorNarrative editor: Gary MarshallAdditional reporting: Katie Riley Sound design: Karla Patella Artwork: Jon Hill & Oscar Ingham Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There was a moment where I got up one day and I got on social media, I got on Twitter, and I just noticed that my feed was just absolutely overrun with content. This story starts with a spy. Well, a former spy. I started to try to excise that content from my timeline. Someone who knows how easy it is to sway opinions online. It became apparent fairly quickly that that was not working, which is unusual. Being a career investigator, my brain kind of went, oh, there's something going on here. This person came to me with a strange theory.

I spent a period of time investigating disinformation campaigns, so foreign influence operations, information warfare stuff. This was more akin to that, what I was witnessing. Not about a stolen election or a hacking operation, but about Johnny Depp and Amber Heard.

There is no f***ing way that that was all organic. There's no f***ing way. Depp v. Heard was the celebrity trial of the century. From the trending hashtag justice for Johnny Depp to the viral memes mockingie Heard was the celebrity trial of the century. From the trending hashtag justice for Johnny Depp to the viral memes mocking Amber Heard. Millions of people saw Amber lose. This was the most humiliating and horrible thing I've ever been through. The US trial is a terrible

example of what happens to women when they speak out. You might think that's all there is to it. But what if you're wrong? What if Amber Heard was the victim of an organized trolling campaign? Those Twitter accounts appear to exhibit indications that there have been a rented bot network or a for-hire propaganda network.

What if the online hate against her wasn't real? I think it's 100% inauthentic. I have no doubt about that. It appears to be some sort of organized attack. And if so, who was responsible? You might actually be able to narrow down who's running this. Amber Heard is a monster.

This is more than a story about celebrities at war. It's about how easily truths can be manipulated in our digital age, how our thoughts can be moulded without us even knowing. There are many things we can say about this very toxic industry that is really a threat for democracy. DMs that basically said, we know where you live, we know where you are, and we're going to come find you and we're going to hurt you. Thoughts? At any time, my story and my work would be revealed.

I'm Alexi Mostras, the host of Sweet Bobby and Hoaxed, and this is Who Trolled Amber, a new six-part series from Tortoise. The first two episodes are available now. Just search for Who Trolled Amber wherever you get your podcasts and follow the feed so you don't miss any future episodes.