Several fake accounts connected to a well-known Russian disinformation campaign helped spread conspiracy theories about Kate Middleton’s health, British security experts told NBC News, a possible dress rehearsal for shadowy operations later this election year. Researchers at the Security, Crime and Intelligence Innovation Institute at Cardiff University found that the Russian accounts seized on outlandish fringe claims about the princess’s wellbeing while she was cloistered following a surgery and amplified them, spreading the conspiracy theories across the internet. The researchers found dozens of accounts that closely resembled profiles operated by the Russian disinformation campaign Dopplegänger, and they speculate that the actors had two goals: to spread pro-Russian propaganda alongside the Kate conspiracies, and to sow general chaos. “It’s about destabilization. It’s about undermining trust in institutions: government, monarchy, media — everything,” Martin Innes, the institute’s director, told NBC. Although their study focused on X, Innes said there may be even more shadowy accounts on TikTok. And Russia may not be alone—the British Telegraph reported that China and Iran were spreading Kate-related disinformation as well.
Read it at NBC News
