Twitter data is showing some alarming trends when it comes to hate toward Meghan Markle and Prince Harry.
It's no secret that social media vitriol factored into the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's decision to step back as senior royals. The hate the couple drew online and emboldened by internet voices and in the tabloids became a cause for concern. Now a report by Twitter analytics service Bot Sentinel is showing that the vast majority of the online hate toward the couple originated from 82 accounts on Twitter, some of which were working in conjunction with one another.
The sophistication and coordination of the attacks hint that it's beyond the work of actual individuals behind these accounts. Bot Sentinel CEO Christopher Bouzy spoke to BuzzFeed News about the report's findings.
An analysis of over 100,000 tweets has painted a picture of a coordinated campaign of targeted harassment of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex. Bot Sentinel, a Twitter analytics service, looked at 114,000 tweets and found that 83 accounts were responsible for approximately 70% of the negative content about Meghan.
A close look at the small group of accounts shows that their primary (and sometimes sole) purpose was to spread hateful and negative comments about Meghan. Though both Harry and Meghan were disparaged and their roles as royals picked apart, attacks against Meghan proved significantly more charged.
Those accounts grew a combined following of 187,631. Their network worked together to fuel negative sentiments toward the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. A spokesperson from Twitter confirmed to BuzzFeed News that they are "actively investigating the information and accounts referenced in this report — we will take action on accounts that violate the Twitter Rules."
Harry and Meghan have stayed off social media. Neither they nor their charitable foundation and production company, Archewell, have an official presence on any social media platform. In October 2020, Meghan talked about her own relationship with social media.
"For my own self-preservation, I have not been on social media for a very long time," she told Fortune.
"I made a personal choice to not have any account, so I don’t know what’s out there, and in many ways that’s helpful for me," Meghan continued.
Harry echoed the sentiment in January 2021, when he talked about the possibility of them ever returning.
"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," he said, per Fast Company.
Unlike other targeted hate campaigns, the campaign against Meghan has no obvious motive, Bot Sentinel CEO Christopher Bouzy points out.
"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," he told BuzzFeed News.
Bot Sentinel's report indicates examples of tweets from the 83 accounts and how they violate Twitter's terms of service, particularly where it applies to targeted harassment. The TOS states that behavior "that harasses or intimidates, or is otherwise intended to shame or degrade others" is prohibited.
In addition, it also violates guidelines that prohibit social coordination between accounts that results in harm to others or that encourages dogpiling. These aren't automated bots but rather real humans.
"This campaign comes from people who know how to manipulate the algorithms, manipulate Twitter, stay under the wire to avoid detection and suspension," Bouzy noted.
The tweets on these accounts are mixed with tweets that do not violate the terms of service "in a more clever way than we normally see." Typically, they pair negative comments about Harry and Meghan with positive comments about other royals. As a result, they are harder for Twitter and Bot Sentinel to detect.
Bot Sentinel's report flags 55 "primary accounts" and 28 "secondary accounts" responsible for 70% of the negative hate content targeting the couple on Twitter. There were tweets calling for Meghan's death, tweets alleging Meghan faked her pregnancy, and tweets that were outright racist. Altogether, their tweets had a reach at least 17 million Twitter users.
"There's a difference between free speech and literally harassing someone," Bouzy noted.
The report states that 40% of the accounts marked as primary accounts have since been suspended by Twitter. Bouzy also acknowledged many of the remaining accounts are likely using tactics to avoid suspension, such as toggling between public and private, or temporarily deactivating and reactivating, changing their handles frequently in between.
"What these accounts are doing — they're really flying under the wire," Bouzy noted.
"They're right at the edge. They're doing things our technology isn't going to catch."
Bouzy believes these attacks are clearly coordinated.
"These primary and secondary accounts are pushing [hate and disinformation] out, and then it's being taken over by organic hate," Bouzy said.
"You have the ringleaders, then the secondary accounts, and then an outside network that also amplifies and pushes a certain narrative."
Bot Sentinel's investigation hasn't gone over well with the group, whose continued presence was felt by Bouzy and his team through accounts that spammed, mass-reported, and threatened him.
"This is a game they play with Twitter, and they know exactly what they're doing," he said.
Check out our Meghan Markle page for all the latest news about Meghan, Prince Harry, and their growing family.
