It’s not enough they tamper with our elections, they have to go after our princesses, too??
Once Princess Catherine revealed her cancer diagnosis, the conspiracy theories that grew up around Her Royal Highness’ absence from public life were instantly revealed to be ridiculous. To be fair, the palace PR team did a TERRIBLE job, turning a simple medical leave into something that looked suspicious. But the blanks got filled in with some wild speculation.
Folks online wondered aloud whether maybe Kate was leaving Prince William — possibly due to his rumored affair with Rose Hanbury. Oh, and maybe the Marchioness was going to replace Princess Catherine! Ooh, or Kate was being phased out because she was in a coma! Or had been murdered! The internet went WILD for a minute there. But it had help…
Related: Conspiracy Theorists Actually APOLOGIZE After Princess Catherine’s Cancer Reveal!
According to Martin Innes, director of the Security, Crime and Intelligence Innovation Institute at Cardiff University in Wales, Russia was amplifying the insanity! He told NBC News his team identified no fewer than 45 distinct social media accounts posting about the Kate news that were likely part of a Russian disinformation campaign called Doppelgänger.
If you’ve followed the news the past few years you’ve probably heard about how Russia has been trying to sow chaos in the Western world. They helped elect Donald Trump (yes, as much as he denies it this is a matter of legal record), they help push theories about elections being rigged, anything to make people lose faith in our institutions. One of those institutions? The monarchy!
Innes says Russians didn’t invent the wild theories. That was the imagination of punters on social media. However, they saw in the mistrust an opportunity to cause more chaos. Innes told NBC News:
“It’s not as though these Russia-linked accounts were driving the story; they were jumping on it. It was already being framed in conspiracy terms, so foreign actors don’t need to set that frame — that’s already there to exploit.”
Again, anything that makes us all question each other, that makes us hate our countries, that’s what they grab onto. Innes explains:
“It’s about destabilization. It’s about undermining trust in institutions: government, monarchy, media — everything. These kinds of stories are ideal vehicles by which they do that.”
And of course, under it all, the message also goes out that Russia is better. Innes says the accounts would engage with the Kate news, then under some of those popular posts, reply with pro-Russia messages.
If you haven’t seen some of the nonsensical Putin propaganda out there, you aren’t paying attention. Take a look at what Tucker Carlson has been up to since leaving Fox News! This was just another way to do it.
So remember next time you’re having fun with conspiracy theories — think about everything you’re ingesting carefully. Pay attention to other messages accounts are trying to send. And don’t let yourself get fooled!
[Image via The Prince and Princess of Wales/YouTube/MEGA/WENN.]