Inside the sinister world of the Sussex Squad online trolls making Kate Middleton’s life a misery with bullying and lies
THEY branded themselves the Sussex Squad, carrying out some of the worst online bullying of the Princess of Wales.
And today The Sun can reveal some of the sinister tactics the trolls use against those who speak out against them.
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.
Behind some of the worst trolling is a group using the hashtag #Sussexsquad who have made outlandish claims about Kate in defence of their heroine, the Duchess of Sussex.
There is no suggestion the group of trolls are endorsed by The Sussexes.
Their chief cheerleader is US tech entrepreneur Christopher Bouzy, who appeared on the Sussexes’ Netflix documentary Harry & Meghan to call out online hate.
When it was announced in January that the princess was undergoing surgery, he posted a video of a gymnast doing backflips, captioned: “Kate Middleton this weekend.”
The self-proclaimed Sussex Squad claims The Sun’s exclusive video of Kate visiting a farm shop in Windsor features a body double or lookalike.
‘They hound your kids’ schools’
And the trolls cruelly claim Prince William threw his wife “under a bus” after the princess admitted tweaking her annual Mother’s Day picture.
We spoke to three people who claim they have been trolled mercilessly and sent frightening messages for speaking out about the squad.
The women claim they have been doxxed — had private details leaked — on Twitter/X, while their families and friends have been hounded on social media.
One told us how she was subject to a smear campaign which alleged she was complicit in a family member’s death.
She was also sent an email with her home address and picture of her house from Google maps.
One victim told us: “They dig deep to find out everything about you.
“They dox your name on Twitter and hound any family members — even young kids — linked to you via social media.
“Then they start hounding your place of employment, kids’ schools and spreading terrible rumours about you.
“In one case, they called a friend’s place of work and started screeching death threats to staff.
“They contacted her teenage daughters and started threatening them. They do everything they can to get you deplatformed (removed from social media) by making complaints.
“They jump on any post that criticises Harry and Meghan or shows massive support of the Prince and Princess of Wales.”
Another woman claims those posting under the #Sussexsquad hashtag have “created smear campaigns” against former members who disagree with them.
She said: “They have block squads to make sure everyone blocks you on Twitter.
“You’re not allowed to mention any mishaps or false steps the couple may have made or you are pushed out.”
A third said: “Most of the main royal accounts have been targeted over the years. Around 200 accounts were bullied off Twitter with the constant relentless harassment from the squad.”
On a now-deleted post on the Sussex Squad podcast page, one Meghan supporter warned: “If you come on our platforms you lose your right to privacy. We will find you, call your jobs, contact your families etc. Try it and see what will happen.
“You have no free speech on any of our platforms.”
While Harry and Meghan have also been the focus of vile and racist social media campaigns, those worried about the power wielded by the Sussex Squad claim members are a co-ordinated group.
The so-called squad is championed by New York software engineer 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.
Bouzy has appeared on Sussex Squad podcasts, created by two American women known only as Tina and Michelle.
‘Conspiratorial thinking is immune to evidence’
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.
“Rightly so, because if William wants to act like a Windsor, he shouldn’t get the privilege of carrying Diana’s pretty Spencer gene.”
Another blog post accused the Prince and Princess of Wales of “leaking stories about their children”, adding: “It does indicate how low they are prepared to go to court public sympathy.”
In a statement to the Press on Twitter/X, Bouzy wrote: “Please stop trying to make Kate the victim of conspiracy theories while ignoring the rampant and vile conspiracy theories about Meghan.
“I can show you thousands of posts from the past 30 days. Or are you implying Meghan deserves it while Kate doesn’t?” He refused an offer to put his side forward on a video call with The Sun.
Social data science expert Anna George at the University of Oxford said conspiracy theorists often twist the truth to suit their narrative.
She explained: “One of the factors of conspiratorial thinking is that it’s immune to evidence.
“There’s this cognitive dissonance which is how people resolve the tension or discomfort when we feel we have contradictory information.
Timeline of Kate’s health battle & recovery
JANUARY 16: Kate is admitted to the London Clinic for abdominal surgery
JAN 17: Kensington Palace announce the princess underwent surgery
JAN 18: William spends time at Kate’s bedside
JAN 23: The princess’ hospital stay passes one week
JAN 29: Kate leaves hospital
FEBRUARY 27: Prince William pulls out of service last-minute due to ‘personal matter’, sparking wave of unfounded conspiracy theories about Kate’s health
MARCH 4: Princess pictured in the car with mum Carole on the Windsor estate
MARCH 10: Royal posts a sweet snap of her and the kids for Mother’s Day – then fans started spotting flaws, and massive agencies put out ‘kill notice’ on photo
MARCH 11: Kate admits she edited photo, and is snapped in car with William
MARCH 16: Royal fans spot the princess at farm shop near Windsor
MARCH 17: Onlookers see Kate watching her youngsters playing sport
MARCH 18: The Sun exclusively published video of Kate and Wills from two days prior
March 22: Kate released video revealing she has been receiving treatment for abdominal surgery
“So we had all these theories about Princess Catherine and now we have information about what was really going on.
“The most committed will discount the evidence and say it’s still not true, that (the video of Kate) needs to be AI generated.”
Psychotherapist Tasha Bailey argues that many conspiracies are a way of dealing with the uncertainty of not knowing the truth.
She said: “Motivated by our intrigue and need to know, we lean into playing detective by creating fictional, sometimes outlandish narratives to fill in the blanks.
“Many of the thoughts on social media allude to people believing that Kate has run away to live her best life.
“This is most likely a projection from people and their own wants and desires, to hide, run away or escape to their dream life.”