The report states that a network of YouTube channels focused on attacking the Duchess of Sussex has over 497 million views and an estimated $3.48 million in total YouTube earnings combined.

• Jan 19, 2022

AceShowbiz - Trolls against Meghan Markle have apparently monetized their hate campaign. According to a new report, accounts that spread misinformation regarding the Duchess of Sussex and her husband Prince Harry have turned its campaign into a "hate-for-profit enterprise."

On Tuesday, January 18, data analytics service Bot Sentinel released a third and final report regarding the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. It detailed how "single-purpose hate accounts have turned targeted harassment and coordinated hate campaigns into a lucrative hate-for-profit enterprise."

The report stated that a network of YouTube channels focused on attacking Meghan has over 497 million views. They additionally earned an estimated $3.48 million in total YouTube combined.

The three of the top content creators, YankeeWally, MurkyMeg and According2taz, have a combined 70+ million views and an estimated $494,730 in total YouTube earnings.

"The trio also coordinated their efforts on Twitter, cultivating a following by disseminating conspiracy theories and disinformation about Harry and Meghan that were concocted in the MeWe group," the report found.

It further noted, "Their efforts allowed them to interact with journalists and royal experts, who then, in some circumstances, amplified the falsehoods. The women leveraged their Twitter popularity to funnel their followers to their YouTube channels, where they would discuss the conspiracy theories they helped to manufacture."

While Twitter has suspended YankeeWally and MurkyMeg. According2taz, however, is still active on the blue bird app though Twitter's reporting system has allegedly "acknowledged she has violated its rules on multiple occasions, including for abuse and harassment."

Back in October 2021, Bot Sentinel found that around 70 percent of hateful comments about the couple on Twitter originated from just 83 accounts. Twitter had previously suspended many of the accounts, but the users were deploying tactics to avoid suspension, including placing "parody" in their profiles.

"Others would use racist coded language about Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, to avoid detection," Bot Sentinel said in its first report. "We also observed several accounts either lock or completely deactivate their profiles to preserve their accounts."