When I initiated the first episode of the new podcast, Who Trolled Amber?, brought to life by the revered Tortoise Media, I scarcely had a clue of what was to come. No prescient vision of mine foresaw a journey that would take me to Saudi Arabia, teaching me about a unique bond between Jack Sparrow and Prince Mohammed bin Salman. I certainly did not envisage scrutinising my laxity in observing a trial that heavily thwarted, even diametrically opposed, the advancement made by the MeToo cause in countering sexual assault.
Who Trolled Amber? is a specialty of Alexi Mostrous, the investigative lead at Tortoise, renowned also for creating lauded audio productions like Sweet Bobby and Hoaxed. Mostrous’s focus evidently lies on the digital sphere, its metamorphosis into a realm nearly devoid of regulations, brimming rampant hostility, pervasive trolling and unbridled disinformation.
The six-part delve into Who Trolled Amber? probes the likelihood of the sudden spike in public interest in Depp vs Heard libel saga of 2022 not being entirely spontaneous. The spark that set it off was a suspicion nursed by Daniel Mackey, a retired Canadian spy, which he shared with Mostrous.
Although largely apathetic toward celebrities, Mostrous’s curiosity was fuelled when he discovered among his acquaintances a unanimous negative sentiment towards Heard, despite none having followed the trial. Could the bots Mackey alluded to have been at play? And who could potentially be controlling them? Consequently, Mostrous set forth to unravel the mystery.
The events highlighted in the podcast might already be common knowledge: Johnny Depp took legal action against his former partner Amber Heard for slander following her article on domestic abuse for the Washington Post in 2022. Remarkably, Depp emerged victorious from the lawsuit, despite Heard never explicitly accusing him in the article.
The podcast goes on to remind us how in 2020, an English judge arrived at a contrary judgement. When Depp filed a lawsuit against the Sun newspaper on the grounds of being labelled a “wife beater”, his claim was dismissed, following the judge’s verdict that the content printed by the newspaper was largely factual.
What placed the second occurrence apart? A colossal virtual uproar had been ignited, resulting in social media feeds flooded with anti-Heard posts, chiefly from platforms such as Twitter and TikTok. With a bit of this activity also manifesting prior to the English lawsuit. However, the critical factor was the American lawsuit was overseen by a jury who were not confined during the trial.
[A sulky, nonchalant Johnny Depp, a gallon of wine, and the hate campaign targeting Amber Heard]
The investigation entitled, Who Trolled Amber? offers an in-depth examination of meticulous journalism by Mostrous and the Tortoise team. They devoted their efforts to scrutinising data, conducting interviews and pursuing indications in a seemingly impossible task to find out who the culprit behind the trolling was. This investigation provides an impressive yet complex understanding of bot activities on social media and societally, illustrating the alarming simplicity of their deployment and identifying the individuals orchestrating them.
The conclusion from Who Trolled Amber? is that there are no straightforward answers. The situation is a convoluted, multi-dimensional affair, with accusations directed towards several parties. However, if the alarming ease with which a disruptive individual or foreign entity can manipulate public sentiment was not worrisome prior, it will become so after this.
Mostrous successfully drives home the point that the tangled court proceedings between an ageing Hollywood star and his considerably younger former spouse highlight potential risks associated with excessive indulgence in aimless digital scrolling.