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The Johnny Depp-Amber Heard trial was a pop culture obsession. Saudi trolls may have had a hand in that

As far as celebrity court battles go, the six-week legal row in 2022 between Hollywood superstar Johnny Depp and his ex-wife, actress Amber Heard, was a pop culture juggernaut reminiscent of the O.J. Simpson murder trial in the 1990s.

The trial, held in a Virginia courtroom, centred on duelling defamation claims from both parties, stemming from allegations of domestic abuse in their relationship.

A new podcast investigates whether the hype and opinions surrounding the case may have been orchestrated, in part, by Saudi Arabia-backed online trolls and bots to discredit and vilify Heard.

Such an influence campaign may have swayed public opinion and possibly the fairness of the trial. But not only that — it may also be a warning ahead of the dozens of elections worldwide set for this year, said Alexi Mostrous, the investigative journalist behind the podcast Who Trolled Amber?, made with producer Xavier Greenwood and released by London-based Tortoise Media.

breadsmasher ,
@breadsmasher@lemmy.world avatar

pretty sure she trolled herself

autotldr Bot ,

This is the best summary I could come up with:

As far as celebrity court battles go, the six-week legal row in 2022 between Hollywood superstar Johnny Depp and his ex-wife, actress Amber Heard, was a pop culture juggernaut reminiscent of the O.J.

Like the Simpson trial, when the former NFL star was acquitted of the 1994 murders of his ex-wife and her friend, Depp v. Heard offered fodder for cable news channels and tabloids alike.

But not only that — it may also be a warning ahead of the dozens of elections worldwide set for this year, said Alexi Mostrous, the investigative journalist behind the podcast Who Trolled Amber?, made with producer Xavier Greenwood and released by London-based Tortoise Media.

But social media was the driving force in turning public opinion against the Aquaman actress and possibly even the outcome of the trial itself, Mostrous suggested, noting that the jury hadn’t been sequestered.

Working with researchers to comb through about a million tweets sent in the lead-up to the U.S. trial, Mostrous said they found “inauthentic activity” from accounts operating in far-flung countries like Thailand and Spain.

According to a February article from Vanity Fair, the actor’s team is in talks with the Saudi government to secure “an annual seven-figure deal for him to attend events and shoot films in the country.”

The original article contains 951 words, the summary contains 203 words. Saved 79%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!

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