Meghan Markle fan Twitter accounts that post ‘obsessively’ about Duchess ‘linked to Russian conspiracy theories’
MEGHAN Markle fan Twitter accounts that post "obsessively" about her have been linked to Russian conspiracy theories, an investigation has found.
Accounts within a Duchess of Sussex Twitter community were analysed and about 1,000 found to have tweeted more than two-and-a-half-million times since September, the Telegraph reports.
One of the widely followed accounts by Meghan fans questioned the Salisbury Novichok attack and another, with the second highest number of pro-Duchess followers, indicated "bot-like activity".
Research from 89up found there was an "unusually high reach" for the community of Meghan Markle fans.
Josh Feldberg, Director of Digital at 89up said: “There is highly suspicious activity on Twitter around search terms linked to the Duchess of Sussex.
"It is unclear the extent to which this content is automated, but the prevalence of strange Twitter usernames and the overlap between accounts that tweet primarily about politics but also tweet extensively about the duchess, could point to an orchestrated campaign to manipulate public opinion by an organisation or state."
Yesterday it was revealed, through research by Hope Not Hate and CNN, that the same small group of trolls sent 3,600 negative tweet directed at Meghan in January and February.
Analysis of the tweets found that 20 accounts were responsible for about 70 per cent of the tweets, sharing anti-Meghan hashtags, pictures and memes.
The small group of accounts that troll the Duchess, 37, often re-tweet news articles that portray Meghan negatively and use racist language.
PALACE PUTS UP ITS SHIELDS
The findings come after the Royal Family declared war on social media trolls warning that the worst offenders will be reported to police.
Buckingham Palace published rules for those wanting to post on all social media channels run by them, Clarence House and Kensington Palace.
Courtiers have said they will block abusers and even encourage police to take legal action if tweets or posts are particularly bad.
Palace aides are understood to have been particularly concerned about users abusing one another, often in the guise of supporting “Team Meghan” or “Team Kate”.
The Duchess of Sussex said yesterday she wants her child to be a feminist, regardless of whether she has a boy or girl.
Meghan — who is due to give birth next month — was asked how her pregnancy was going. She declared: “Very well.”
Then she said: “It’s funny, I’d actually been joking these past few weeks I’d seen this documentary on Netflix about feminism and one of the things they said during pregnancy was ‘I feel the embryonic kicking of feminism’. I loved that.
Meghan — who was appearing on a panel for International Women's Day — she also revealed that husband Prince Harry, 34, firmly champions women’s rights.
The Sun Online attempted to reach Kensington Palace for comment.
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368. You can WhatsApp us on 07810 791 502. We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.