Twitter Is 'Actively Investigating' Hate Campaign Against Meghan Markle & Prince Harry
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have been publicly bashed for the last few years, and now a new analysis of Twitter found that there are some accounts that were responsible for spreading hateful tweets about the couple.
According to BuzzFeed News, analytics service Bot Sentinel released some data which examined over 114,000 tweets about the pair, who moved to California in 2020. There were about 83 accounts that were tweeting harmful things about them; this made up 70 percent of the negative content.
"Our research found that a relatively small number of single-purpose anti-Meghan and Harry accounts created and disseminated most of the hateful content on Twitter," the report said. "However, the primary accounts had assistance that allowed their content to be repackaged and shared by accounts with a considerable following."
"And at least one account was openly recruiting people to join their hate initiative on Twitter," the report states, adding that said accounts were part of this "hate network."
“There’s no motive,” Bot Sentinel CEO Christopher Bouzy said. “Are these people who hate her? Is it racism? Are they trying to hurt [Harry and Meghan’s] credibility? Your guess is as good as ours.”
“This campaign comes from people who know how to manipulate the algorithms, manipulate Twitter, stay under the wire to avoid detection and suspension,” he continued. “This level of complexity comes from people who know how to do this stuff, who are paid to do this stuff.”
“There’s a difference between free speech and literally harassing someone,” Bouzy said of the frightening verbal attacks. “What these accounts are doing — they’re really flying under the wire. They’re right at the edge. They’re doing things our technology isn’t going to catch. These primary and secondary accounts are pushing [hate and disinformation] out, and then it’s being taken over by organic hate. You have the ringleaders, then the secondary accounts, and then an outside network that also amplifies and pushes a certain narrative.”
Meanwhile, a Twitter spokesperson said they are "actively investigating the information and accounts referenced in this report — we will take action on accounts that violate the Twitter Rules."
Meghan and Harry do not have social media at the moment, but it sounds like they aren't opposed to joining again in the future.
"We will revisit social media when it feels right for us — perhaps when we see more meaningful commitments to change or reform — but right now we've thrown much of our energy into learning about this space and how we can help," the former actress said in January.
