THE Sussex Squad are a group of social media trolls carrying out the worst online harassment against the Princess of Wales.
The group – which is not endorsed by the Sussexes – has spread sick conspiracy theories surrounding Kate Middleton’s abdominal surgery, claiming she was a victim of domestic violence, in the middle of a divorce from Prince William or hiding out after plastic surgery.
Even when the princess bravely told the world last week that she was undergoing chemotherapy for cancer, cyberbullies claimed her video was AI-generated.
The self-styled Sussex Squad claims The Sun’s exclusive video of Kate visiting a farm shop in Windsor features a body double or lookalike.
The trolls cruelly claim Prince William threw his wife “under a bus” after the princess admitted to altering her annual Mother’s Day photo.
And today The Sun revealed some of the sinister tactics the trolls are using against those who speak out against them.
But social media experts saw this coming a mile away, says Imran Ahmed, CEO of the Center for Countering Digital Hate…
THE lies circulating around the world about the Princess of Wales’s illness were shocking and disgusting.
But it’s no surprise to those of us who study social media and the damage it causes to society.
One of the biggest myths about social media is that it reflects the voice of the people. That is not the case.
Social media is an experience created by engineers who use a lot of complicated math and build an addictive timeline that keeps you reaching for your phone all the time.
The platforms have learned over time that what really keeps people hooked are controversies, conspiracy theories and outrage that create a negative emotional response.
So they pump those conspiracies into our timelines at the expense of authentic news.
As users, we react with anger and disgust, often on the platform itself, and then wait to see what others say.
And we are constantly looking at advertising, which is how we make profit for these platforms.
Very often the platforms will deliberately incite fear and paranoia – and that is exactly what has happened to the Royal Family in recent weeks.
But while this is addictive, is it healthy for us as individuals, or for society? Absolutely not.
First, it increases our sense that the world is crazy and full of threats. That is not healthy for democracy.
It creates what social scientists call “polarization,” which causes people on both sides of the political debate to demonize and even hate those with whom they disagree.
Second, the more times we see something untrue, the more likely we are to believe it.
‘Illusory truth effect’
In psychology this is called the “illusory truth effect”.
If you saw ten plumes of smoke coming from a building, you would assume there is probably a fire.
When you see hundreds of videos on TikTok talking about the Royal Family lying about the Princess of Wales, the same effect makes us cast doubt on a young woman who simply protected her family’s privacy while dealing with a devastating diagnosis.
This sick business model is harming our society and innocent people
Imran Ahmed
And social media platforms make money because of it.
Mark Zuckerberg and his social media-owning friends are among the richest people who have ever lived.
And the “influencers” who create this content make money too.
It encourages the emergence of a new breed of ‘conspiracy spy’ who exploit these patterns and jump on the latest conspiracy theory to gain more followers, more fame and more profits.
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
This sick business model is harming our society and innocent people.
It’s the same system that shoves content about eating disorders into the timelines of young girls and anti-Semitic hate into the feeds of Jewish people.
Children are being preyed upon by adults, and scammers are running rampant online. This is actually anti-social media.
What can be done
The government passed an online safety law last year, but it is missing some important components.
In particular, there is a lack of real transparency; we who use social media still can’t see for ourselves how the algorithms work and how platforms enforce their rules, if at all.
The Center for Countering Digital Hate demands that the government fix this now.
It’s time we get transparency from social media platforms so we can hold them accountable when they screw up.
And if this really causes harm to someone, we should be able to hold him or her financially responsible.
This is how you get a healthy democracy and healthy industries.