In 2021, Twitter analytics service Bot Sentinel uncovered a coordinated hate campaign against Meghan Markle.
Bot Sentinel's report found that just 83 accounts were responsible for 70% of hateful tweets directed towards the Duchess of Sussex.
Among the accounts that directed trolling messages at Meghan were a dozen accounts that apparently belonged to her half-sister Samantha, with whom she doesn't have a relationship (it's unclear whether these 12 accounts are part of the 83 in the report, BTW).
"Samantha had her account suspended and then we sent Twitter a list because she had, like, 11 additional accounts," Christopher Bouzy, the founder and CEO of Bot Sentinel, said on Netflix' Harry & Meghan (via OK!).
"And we were baffled by this. How can the half-sister of Meghan be part of a hate group?"
We're then shown the following words, adapted from a March 2022 article in Newsweek, "According to Samantha Markle’s attorney, Samantha’s Twitter account has never been 'suspended' but instead 'hacked,' resulting in 'imposter accounts' made by third parties to defame his client."
Samantha's attorney told the publication at the time, "Samantha's Twitter account appears to have been hacked; someone changed her password; and some of the Twitter screenshots that have appeared in the media very recently appear to have been altered or Photoshopped.
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"However, due to the urgency of this matter, we are still investigating."
Samantha has repeatedly and very publicly criticized her half-sister, including publishing a memoir titled The Diary of Princess Pushy's Sister — Part 1. In March of 2022, it came out that Samantha was suing Meghan for defamation. Meghan filed to dismiss the claim, but her motion was denied, Us Weekly reports.
Despite all this, Meghan was able to forge a close bond with Samantha's biological daughter, Ashleigh Hale, which was also detailed in the Netflix docuseries.
Iris Goldsztajn is a London-based journalist, editor and author. She is the morning editor at Marie Claire, and her work has appeared in the likes of InStyle, Cosmopolitan, Bustle and Shape. Iris writes about everything from celebrity news and relationship advice to the pitfalls of diet culture and the joys of exercise. She has many opinions on Harry Styles, and can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.
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