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.