Sway this way
Who Trolled Amber review
Production company – Tortoise Media
Rating – 
Last week in my rather apologetic post, I said that the next review would be rather divisive. Today’s podcast wasn’t what I originally had in mind, although it is a subject that has certainly proved to be divisive, albeit for different reasons. I had the first two episodes in advance, and despite my initial misgivings and ambivalence when Imran over at GreatPods sent them to me, I have to say that I’m hooked. I’m also man enough to admit when I’m wrong.
So without further ado, here is my review of Who Trolled Amber.
So what’s it about?
I’m sure that without exception, everyone who will ever read this, plus all of their friends and family will know about the court case of Depp v Heard. I don’t think that’s an exaggeration. The whole of the world’s media, both mainstream and social, followed every twist and turn of what should have been a relatively mundane court hearing between a husband and wife. Now, I’m not saying that domestic violence isn’t something of utmost seriousness, in the grand scheme of court cases it is not something that really deserves 24/7 media coverage.
Soon though, posts started appearing on social media that were definitely geared towards swaying public opinion against Amber Heard. There were clips of the court case, and the inevitable procession of memes followed. And that is what most people know of the case. Not the actual proceedings, but the video clips, memes and sound bites disseminated across the various social sites.
At first glance, the accounts that shared these posts looked legitimate. They weren’t the usual bots that have infected facebook and twitter. They had photos, and back stories, and the profiles were all seemingly real. Except they weren’t. A team of investigative journalists recorded a meeting with shady tech contractors Team Jorje posing as customers. They showed off their capabilities to generate hundreds of fake social media accounts almost instantly, with previously unheard of realism.
So the question was asked. Could the social media backlash against Amber Heard be entirely fabricated? But if so, who was responsible?
Is it any good?
So far, yes. Having said that, this podcast is only 2 episodes old, so my opinion could possibly change (but I doubt it). The show is exactly what you would come to expect from Tortoise. The show exudes a quality and gravitas that is lacking from other, similar shows.
Alexei Mostrous has proved again that he is at the forefront of investigative journalism, and (forgive the hyperbole) but his name appearing on the credits of a podcast is enough to get an immediate subscription from me.
Final thoughts
The main thing I took away from this, and by far the scariest thing, is how easily the public can be swayed by social media. We have become so used to scrolling mindlessly through our news feeds that we absorb information almost subliminally. That is what the nefarious parts of society rely on, although they are now able to still fool people who delve a bit deeper into the source of the news leaks.
I’m not being “holier than thou” here, I was just as guilty as anyone else for spouting snippets of information about the case. I didn’t actually care that much about it, which was probably part of the problem. People (me included) have become so ambivalent about much of the news that some salacious piece of gossip can really spread like wildfire.
This is another exceptional podcast from Tortoise. If you liked Hoaxed, Into The Dirt or Londongrad, then you’ll love this. I can’t wait to see how this story develops, and I almost wish that I hadn’t started this story so soon. I really like to binge podcasts, and this is certainly a bingeable show indeed.
You can get Who Trolled Amber here:
For more podcast reviews, I recommend GreatPods.