Who Trolled Amber?

What comes to mind when you think of Amber Heard? Liar? Survivor? Narcissist? Millions of us watched the celebrity trial of the century, Depp v Heard, in 2022. Amber Heard lost and Johnny Depp was vindicated. But what if Amber was actually the victim of an organised trolling campaign? What if the online hate against her was manufactured? Alexi Mostrous investigates what happened to Amber and who might have been responsible. It's a story about how our own thoughts and opinions can be moulded without us even realising.

Depp v Heard was the celebrity trial of the century. He won, she lost. But was Amber Heard the target of an organised trolling campaign? A former spy puts Alexi reluctantly on the trail, but he quickly discovers this is much more than a story of celebrities at war.

The team talk to a Hollywood insider and travel to Florida in search of their first big clue: a treasure trove of data that might show what happened to Amber Heard online – and who was behind it.

Disinformation experts come back with some startling results. The story begins to cross continents as the team find evidence of a global campaign.

The astonishing case of a teenage killer helps lift the lid on how bot campaigns work – and offers the team a new path forward in the investigation.

Could a nation state have deployed an online army to fight for Johnny Depp? Alexi discovers the curious relationship between the Hollywood star and an authoritarian world leader.