THEY called themselves the Sussex Squad and carried out some of the worst online bullying of the Princess of Wales.
And today The Sun can reveal some of the sinister tactics the trolls are using against those who speak out against them.
Their hate campaign started when they dealt with diseases conspiracy theories around kate’s abdominal surgery, during which she claimed she was a victim of domestic violence, was in the middle of a parting of Prince William or hiding after plastic surgery.
Even when the princess bravely told the world last week that she was undergoing chemotherapy, cyberbullies claimed her video was AI-generated.
Behind some of the worst trolling is a group who use the hashtag #Sussexsquad and have made bizarre claims about Kate in defense of their heroine, the Duchess of Sussex.
There is no suggestion that the group of trolls are endorsed by The Sussexes.
READ MORE ABOUT PRINCESS KATE
Their main cheerleader is American technology entrepreneur Christopher Bouzy, who appeared in the series Sussexes Netflix documentary Harry and Meghan stir up hate online.
When it was announced in January that the princess was undergoing surgery, he posted a video of a gymnast doing backflips with the caption: “Kate Middleton this weekend.”
The self-styled Sussex Squad are claiming The Sun’s exclusive video of Kate visiting a farm shop in Windsor functions a body double or lookalike.
‘They haunt your children’s schools’
And the trolls cruelly claim Prince William threw his wife “under a bus” after the princess admitted to altering her annual Mother’s Day photo.
We spoke to three people who claim they have been mercilessly targeted and sent terrifying messages for speaking out about the team.
The women claim they have been doxxed – with private information leaked – on Twitter/X, while their families and friends are being hounded on social media.
One told us how she was the victim of a smear campaign claiming she was complicit in the death of a family member.
She also received an email with her home address and a photo of her house Googling Cards.
One victim told us: “They dig deep to find out everything about you.
‘They’re popping up your name Tweet and pursue any family members – even young children – who are connected to you through social media.
“Then they start haunting your house employment opportunitieschildren schools and spread terrible rumors about you.
“In one case, they called a friend’s workplace and started making death threats against staff.
“They contacted her teenage daughters and started threatening them. They do everything they can to deplatform you (removed from social media) by filing complaints.
“They jump on every post that criticizes Harry and Meghan or shows enormous support for the Prince and Princess of Wales.”
Another woman claims that those posting under the hashtag #Sussexsquad have “set up smear campaigns” against former members who disagree with them.
She said: “They have block squads to make sure everyone blocks you on Twitter.
‘You are not allowed to mention accidents or untruths steps the couple may have made it or you may be pushed out.
A third said: “Most of the most important royal accounts have been targeted over the years. Approximately 200 accounts were bullied from Twitter due to the team’s continued brutal harassment.”
In a now-deleted post on the Sussex Squad podcast page, a Meghan supporter warned: “If you come onto our platforms you lose your right to privacy. We will find you, call your jobscontact your family etc. Try it and see what will happen.
“You have no freedom of speech on any of our platforms.”
While Harry and Meghan are also the focus of vile and racist social media campaignsthose who are concerned about the current The members of the Sussex Squad claim they are a coordinated group.
The so-called squad is being championed by New York software engineer Bouzy, 48, who was responsible for a technology program that tracked hundreds of bots that harassed Meghan and Harry.
Bouzy called earlier Prince William a “balding muppet”, and claimed the future King and Kate “look like Harry’s aunt and uncle”.
He also claimed The Sun’s exclusive video of Kate at her favorite farm shop in Windsor – the first footage after her operation – is fake.
Bouzy has appeared on the Sussex Squad podcasts, created by two American women known only as Tina and Michelle.
‘Conspiratorial thinking is immune to evidence’
On the Sussex Squad Instagram page, members are airing dangerous conspiracy theories about Kate’s cancer surgery – including accusations that she doesn’t have the disease.
A blog on the main website insults Prince William’s hairline with a bizarre barb referencing the late Princess Diana.
Under the brand name Baldilocks it reads: ‘William is bald because his mother reached down from heaven and ripped back her fine Spencer genes. William’s hairline was also ripped away in the process.
“Rightly so, because if William wants to act like a Windsor, he shouldn’t be given the privilege of carrying Diana’s beautiful Spencer gene.”
Another blog post accused the Prince and Princess of Wales of “leaking stories about their children”, adding: “It shows how low they are willing to go. court public sympathy.”
In a statement to the press on Twitter/X, Bouzy wrote: “Please stop trying to make Kate a victim of conspiracy theories while ignoring the rampant and vile conspiracy theories about Meghan.
“I can show you thousands of messages from the last 30 days. Or do you mean Meghan deserves it, while Kate doesn’t?” He declined an offer to put his side forward during a video call with The Sun.
Social data science Expert Anna George from the University of Oxford said conspiracy theorists often twist the truth to suit their narrative.
She explained: “One of the factors of conspiratorial thinking is that it is immune to evidence.
“There’s cognitive dissonance, the way people resolve the tension or discomfort when we feel like we have conflicting information.
Timeline of Kate’s health struggles and recovery
JANUARY 16: Kate is admitted to the London Clinic for abdominal surgery
JANUARY 17TH: Kensington Palace announces that the princess has undergone surgery
JANUARY 18: William spends time at Kate’s bedside
JANUARY 23: The princess’s hospital stay lasts a week
JANUARY 29: Kate leaves the hospital
FEBRUARY 27: Prince William withdraws from service at the last minute due to ‘personal matters’, sparking a wave of baseless conspiracy theories about Kate’s health
4TH OF MARCH: Princess pictured in car with mother Carole at Windsor estate
10TH OF MARCH: Royal posts a sweet photo of her and the kids for Mother’s Day – then fans started noticing flaws, and huge agencies posted a ‘kill message’ on photo
11 MARCH: Kate admits she edited the photo and is photographed in the car with William
MARCH 16: Royal fans spotted the princess in a farm shop near Windsor
17TH OF MARCH: Onlookers see Kate watching her children play sports
18TH OF MARCH: The Sun exclusively published a video of Kate and Wills from two days earlier
March 22nd: Kate has released a video revealing she is being treated for abdominal surgery
“So we had all these theories about Princess Catherine and now we have information about what was really going on.
“The most committed people will dismiss the evidence and say it is still not true that (Kate’s video) has to be generated by AI.”
Psychotherapist Tasha Bailey argues that many conspiracies are a way of coping with the uncertainty that comes with not knowing the truth.
She said: “Motivated by our intrigue and need to know, we play detective by creating fictional, sometimes bizarre stories to fill in the blanks.
“A lot of the thoughts on social media refer to people believing that Kate has run away to live her best life.
“This is most likely a projection of people and their own wishes and desires, to hide, run away or escape to their dream life.”