Multiple things have been happening all at once this year in royal gossip. For one thing, royal gossip went mainstream in a huge way, as casual observers and otherwise royal-ambivalents were suddenly engrossed with the mystery around the missing Princess of Wales. While the British media would never admit it, Kensington Palace made the conspiracies a million times worse with a series of bungled messages, lies, manipulated photos and more. What we’ve seen in the past week is the British media’s attempt to regain control of the message and the story, and paint everyone with valid questions as some kind of conspiratorial lunatic. They’re conflating every critic/gossip with a “sinister Sussex Squad agenda” and worse yet, they’re conflating reasonable gossip and Sussex Squad people with Russian interference. The Sun ran a piece this week in which they’re actively trying to demonize all of the “what happened to Kate” people with “the sinister world of the Sussex Squad online trolls making Kate Middleton’s life a misery.” What’s weird about this is that the Sun gleefully printed a lot of those theories:
Their campaign of hate began when they peddled sick conspiracy theories around Kate’s abdominal surgery, claiming she was the victim of domestic violence, was in the middle of a divorce from Prince William or hiding away after plastic surgery. Even when the princess last week bravely told the world she is undergoing chemotherapy, the cyberbullies claimed her video was AI-generated. And the trolls cruelly claim Prince William threw his wife “under a bus” after the princess admitted tweaking her annual Mother’s Day picture.
The so-called squad is championed by New York software engineer Christopher Bouzy, 48, who was responsible for a tech program that unearthed hundreds of bots harassing Meghan and Harry. Bouzy has previously called 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 favourite farm shop in Windsor — the first images after her surgery — is fake.
On the Sussex Squad Instagram page, members peddle dangerous conspiracy theories about Kate’s cancer operation — including allegations she does not have the disease. A blog on its main website insults Prince William’s hairline in a bizarre barb referencing the late Princess Diana.
Branding him Baldilocks, it states: “William is bald because his mother reached down from heaven and snatched her fine Spencer genes back, William’s hairline was also snatched in the process.
LOL, why is the Sun printing sh-t about Baldilocks?? Why are they amplifying it?? It’s one thing to say “there are these people on the internet who love the Sussexes and have a lot of theories about the Waleses,” but to actually put this stuff in print in one of the biggest tabloids in the UK?? It’s definitely weird and I can’t wait for them to mention nicknames like Huevo, Wiglet, Keen and Buttons. And yes, the Sun has never done this kind of deep dive into the sinister world of Derangers, the coordinated bullying/disinformation effort against the Sussexes. That’s because outlets like the Sun have a symbiotic relationship with those online trolls.
Also: the New York Times is sort of backing up the British claims that Russia piggybacked on all of the royal drama this year. The NYT is basically like, most of the internet speculation was organic, but there were some efforts by a Kremlin-linked disinformation network to spread claims about Kate. Which I believe – I think everyone was getting involved and Russian networks used the “Where Is Kate” conspiracy to sow more chaos.
Photos courtesy of Cover Images, covers courtesy of The Sun.
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- Catherine, Princess of Wales and Prince William, Prince of Wales visit Windsor Foodshare in Windsor, England. The Prince and Princess of Wales visited the charity to learn about their work providing food parcels to those who are struggling financially. Featuring: Catherine, Princess of Wales, Prince William, Prince of Wales Where: Windsor, United Kingdom When: 26 Jan 2023 Credit: Cover Images
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- Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales speaks to crew members during a visit to the RNLI lifeboat station at St Davids, Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, west Wales. Featuring: Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales Where: Haverfordwest, United Kingdom When: 08 Sep 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- The Prince of Wales and Chairman of Wrexham AFC Rob McElhenney share a drink during a visit to The Turf public house at Wrexham AFC in Wrexham, to hear about how it plays a key role as a hub for the local area, and the support it provides to local causes Featuring: William, Prince of Wales, Rob McElhenney Where: Wrexham, United Kingdom When: 01 Mar 2024 Credit: Chris Jackson/PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- The Prince of Wales during a visit to The Turf public house at Wrexham AFC in Wrexham, to hear about how it plays a key role as a hub for the local area, and the support it provides to local causes Featuring: William, Prince of Wales Where: Wrexham, United Kingdom When: 01 Mar 2024 Credit: Chris Jackson/PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- The Prince of Wales speaks to guests during the annual Commonwealth Day Service at Westminster Abbey in London Featuring: William, Prince of Wales Where: London, United Kingdom When: 11 Mar 2024 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- The Prince of Wales speaks to guests during the annual Commonwealth Day Service at Westminster Abbey in London Featuring: William, Prince of Wales Where: London, United Kingdom When: 11 Mar 2024 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- A man reads a copy of The Sun newspaper in central London which shows the Princess of Wales with the Prince of Wales during a visit to a farm shop in Windsor. Where: London, United Kingdom When: 19 Mar 2024 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
“peddle dangerous conspiracy theories about Kate’s cancer operation — including allegations she does not have the disease.”
They know it’s a lie.
@IKYK
🎯
This reminds me of how the tabloids would gleefully reveal what royal sources working in the palace call Meghan. It is certainly interesting now they are doing it to W&K. These creative insults for K&W were around for years, but right now they are giving publicity to them. Diana snatching her genes from Will has been a meme at least since Oprah interview.
When we say russian bots are responsible for something, it usually means they were leading the conversation. In this case, the russian bots were probably participating in it because it was a popular topic, not leading the discussion. Most of the discussions were from American tiktok accounts who comment on popular topics.
Is Murdoch upset with C&C? That front page (Kate’s emotional lunch) of The Sun is not very flattering of the king.
Because someone else called them names I think they get joy in repeating those names.
The Sun does not have access to the Sussexes, who have been used to deflect attention from William and the rest. They do have access to a ton of Sussex-sympathetic comments. KP has just been exposed on the world stage as untrustworthy, which might feel a bit uncomfortable for some people. My guess is that The Sun is trying to switch the narrative here.
Yes the Sun wants out of the sunlight.
The market video stirred much interest, but also too much interest from people who don’t even read the Sun about the Sun, its inglorious history, and how it operates.
This is why there’s an attempt to associate Russian disinformation with critics of tabloid journalism (which includes more reputable press as it adopts more tabloid style reporting) and critics of the BRF. If you are a critic, you are a Russian troll. lol.
Everything surrounding Kate except for the diagnosis has been a lie. KP wants to invalidate all the questioning so they can continue to lie with impunity. That time is over but they won’t stop trying.
KP is using the tabloids to conduct this disinformation campaign but the tabloids are PISSED about how all of this has been handled so they are doing what KP wants but in the most embarrassing way possible. Malicious compliance at its finest.
I remember when people used to get angry at the Beyhive. Something about strangers coming together to ferociously defend a Black Woman pisses off all the right people. Carry on Sussex Squad.
If they lie about everything, nothing says that the diagnosis is real….that’s why it’s better to tell nothing than lie.
Never explain, never complain was a very good idea, too bad Willy and Kaity were too stupid to realise it!
The desperation of the press there is showing. The clean up isn’t going very well at all. If this article was meant to shame the Sussex squad they failed epically, looking on social media the world is laughing at the total incompetence of the future king and his pr minions.
“ The clean up isn’t going very well at all.”
Exactly. Their clean up is the equivalent of trying to wipe up the ocean with a six pack of paper towels.
This reminds me of when the Tatler article came out, and the tabloids wrote article after article about how cruel Tatler was while…..repeating the tatler article basically verbatim.
Baldilocks? Mentioning divorce? the Diana comment?
The Sun has been super pro KP over the last few weeks so this is……an interesting twist.
To your final point I noticed that – not just the KP leaning but the amount of coverage. I scan the headlines when I go to the supermarket and yesterday it was trying to make something of the Diddy/Harry ‘link’. Royal front pages day in and day out are more in the DM wheelhouse (even given the circumstances).
None of this is new though? Russia and other bad actors have been pumping internet discourse with toxicity intended to create strife and literally tear apart the fabric of Western society since 2015 (at least).
A Senate report in 2016 showed Russian bots were behind the Colin Kaepernick kneeling national anthem controversy. This was all part of the huge widespread effort to subvert democracy. What other subject might be a timely, effective method of stoking racism? Perhaps the interracial marriage between a Black American and a white royal?
So yet, malicious bots from around the globe have poured gasoline on this fire just like they have DEI just like they have woke just like they have literally everything that has come across any of our timelines for the better part of the last decade. The digital devils on our shoulders urging society towards our worst selves by stoking our innermost insecurities.
As to why the Sun is doing this, I think it’s the win-win of getting to harass a majority POC group as a way of abusing Meghan by proxy AND getting to shade Will as much as possible because they’re reminding them they own him.
Wait, is the Sun trying to pretend that they don’t know that “throw someone under the bus” is metaphorical? Because that sure reads like people online are implying that Huevo literally heaved her under a bus. Which is hilariously disingenuous.
LOL, I missed that part.
Well, let’s face it, they know William’s violent proclivities better than we do.
Spot on Cessily!
Thank you😉
In the royalist minds the British royals are so important that the Chinese Government and Russian operatives are trolling them. It is a sad state of affairs when you have this sort of ego. This is part of those folks problem, the quicker they realize in the greater world, they are just a small pebble the sooner they will return to reality.
The gutter rags mentioned the trolling by the SussexSquad but has never acknowledged the very good work this Squad does in the name of the Sussexes. Raising millions of dollars from a global community such as the SussexSquad is no easy feat for Harry and Meghan’s charities/work. A new fundraiser will begin shortly to honor Lilli’s and Archie’s birthday. Will be interesting to see if this will receive the same sort of publicity.
The gutter press as well as the incompetence of KP bought this trolling upon themselves and the gutter media as their chief enablers amplified this noise.
Dragging foreign actors into Kate Gate tells me a hostile nation on has kompromat on William and Kate.
Wasn’t he photographed/involved with a young Russian woman. Nothing would surprise me.
Would not be surprised in the least. Epstein list?
A bit rich of the Sun to be outraged when they always amplify the derangers’ obsessions and lies about Harry and Meghan. The word ‘Megxit’ was coined by the derangers aka William and Kate’s fans and was put on the front page of the Sun. The conspiracy theory about the christening photo came from the derangers. Not to mention that the Palace has encouraged racism, conspiracy theories and threats against Harry and his family on their social media pages by refusing to turn off their comments. I hope this means that the Sun will be calling William Baldilocks from now on.
The tabloids are themselves an extension of Russian disinformation. (At least 2 tabs have connections with Russian oligarchs iirc). They use similar tactics, and they really, truly DGAF about any of the royals, so long as they can use them, and promote (or invent/sow, in some cases) conflicts within, as a perennial moneyspinner. They don’t care which royals “win”. They make money either way.
The tabs are freaking out because Harry and Hugh Grant and Elton John and others are speaking out. And because the world is paying attention to the little man behind the curtain, not ‘the great and powerful Oz’. Harry et al ripped the curtain away. People are starting to question the veracity of the media more. That is brilliant and we need to see more of it. More unblinkering of the public!
What is so strange is a rumour that Charles had died does seem to have been amplified by Russia (and Irish Twitter salivating at the idea CIII might have passed on St. Patrick’s Day) but that, which I would have considered more important in all ways is not the main focus for The Sun at all. It really does seem to be KP trying to get ahead of being found out to be lying again. They’ve moved from professional photographers who worked with the Sussexes to their online defenders. The attempt to tie Harry to that Combs raid was shut down nearly at once. They are still frantically trying to pivot to H&M. That tells me they don’t feel secure about their position. I hope journalists probe the two videos and expose KP’s dishonesty.
One of the funnier tweets on Irish Twitter noted that if two British monarchs died under Biden, Biden would be an Irish legend forever.
QuiteContrary, LOL, although Biden wouldn’t wish harm to anyone, I think he would enjoy being an Irish legend.
The royals continue to fascinate me with their ability to put on these very convincing but fake smiles in public when we know for a fact that behind the scenes, theyre going thru hell.
Look at the image of Bully at the head of this thread. Look at that big ole smile that actually reaches his eyes, when we know for a fact, based on the screeds and utterances from his own sycophants in the shitmedia and via KP, that he’s a troubled man; that he likely did something egregious to his wife; and that he and his team are out of their depth, given the keystone-cops nature of their response to public scrutiny.
Cowmilla is out there doing it too – smiling like its the 1950s and the royals are still held high on a pedestal by all their subjects .
And we have the perfect examples in H&M: Jan 2019 to March 2020 during a period which we came to know, after the fact, that they were being put thru hell, never mind the period beginning from the minute H introduced his then girlfriend to the british public, Nov 2016, via letter of reprimand for the hell they were putting her thru and demanding an end to their abuse of her.
All we saw of them in public were smiling faces.
And yeah I know its a human thing……we all do it from time to time, But come on……the royals have perfected it!
They should keep amplifying the funny names – we have lots more of them.
Yeah sounds like they’ve been mooching around here and picked up a few of ours.
That’s what I was wondering, is this the ‘main website’ to which they referred? Hiya, Sun! We got your number! The Cambridges, too. (And yeah, we know they’re now the Wales.)
Lol SQUAD writes articles for the sun because their usual reporters need to top up their sycophancy doses 😂
Yes we are better than the derangers because WE tell it like it is. Wonder when they will use the “Billy and bone” titles 🤔
So the farm video was “the first images after her surgery”? So are they denying that was her with Carole? Or trying to change the narrative so that nobody discusses that picture? The question would be why they want that particular one ignored? Because it was faked like the MD pic or because it’s real and reveals something?
My take on this is simple – everything before Kate’s cancer video was a fake. And the cancer video itself also might have been manipulated, but I believe that she has cancer.
KP is definitely trying to change the narrative – they’re doing the royal “We have spoken, now you peasants run along – there’s nothing to see here.”
@ Equality – And the “William dropping her off at a private appointment” photo. Guess they forgot about that one “proving” Kate alive and well.
Wales squad aka The Sun at work. They do KP’s dirty work and try to re-write history. This is clearly a deflection. I read another story in NYT from Jennifer Weiner ” How the Windsor Women becam Human Shields ” This was written before Kate disclosed her cancer diagnosis. She simply said that the women are used to deflect from the mistakes of the males who are in line for succession. I still believe that Kate is used as human shield. She is portrayed as perfect, never putting a foot wrong and now with her cancer battle the BM says “how can you criticise poor Kate. she is so sick”. With Kate taking the blame KP and Willi are also protected and hiding behind Kate.
Interesting is also connecting Bouzy with Sussex Squad. It’s like killing two birds with one stone.
Monika, Christopher Bouzy has credibility. He’s not afraid to speak his mind. That’s probably viewed as dangerous by the bm, so they’re going to try and harm his credibility. The thing is, they better be careful. He’s had lawsuits to deal with and wins. He also has a huge following–they might want to tread carefully.
First, Stephen Colbert and now C. Bouzy. Someone wants to win over the US media and consider both as stumbling blocks. I wonder if they will go after John Oliver.
Saucy&Sassy, I agree. Christopher Bouzy has a good reputation. He did a very good piece on social media hate accounts targeting Meghan. This makes him a target for the Sun. This piece is to delegitimise any criticism of Willi and Kate and to deflect from the mess KP created. They forget that the people on social media who were genuinely concerned about Kate’s well-being, feeling that KP was hiding something and that it was more serious as KP wanted us toi believe were at the end proven right.
The Sun is turning more and more into a prooaganda outlet for Willi and Kate. They are not even anymore pretending to be balanced. This is now a visible contract.
Suacy&Sassy, I agree. Christopher Bouzy has a very good reputation. He did a very good piece about social media hate accounts targeting Meghan. This makes him a target for the Sun. This piece is to delegetimise any criticsm of Willi and Kate and to deflect from the mess KP created They forget that all the people on social media who are genuinely concerned about Kate’s well-being, feeling that KP was something hiding and the it was more serious as KP wanted us to believe, they were at the end proven right.
The Sun is turning more and more into a propaganda outlet for Willi and Kate. They openly admit to be in contact with KP. This is now a visible contract.
Is The Sun newspaper reacting because they aren’t getting any good stories from KP? IMO Kate did the video without telling William and that meant William couldn’t pass anything to his favourite reporter? Kate managed to keep this one under her hat so does that mean the royal who is leaking at KP has outted themself?