Podcast Corner: Amber Heard in focus for series on 'celebrity trial of the century'
Johnny Depp and Amber Heard. (AP Photo)
From Real Money to Hoaxed to Sweet Bobby and myriad others we could name, Tortoise Media has built up a stellar reputation of interesting investigative podcast series. Its latest release is Who Trolled Amber?. It dubs the Amber Heard-Johnny Depp case the celebrity trial of the century, and the first couple of episodes do go through the highlights (lowlights?) of the legal proceedings, but it’s ultimately more interested in the social media outcry against Heard and the repercussions she has suffered.
For example, despite a British judge finding that Depp had abused his ex-wife, he’s still the face of Dior and indeed signed a new $20m contract with it in 2022. Meanwhile, Heard was dropped from her deal with L’Oreal following the trial.
There’s a misogynistic bent underlying the whole sordid, sorry case and a persistent feeling that it’s a backlash to #MeToo. Like Jon Ronson’s Things Fell Apart, Who Trolled Amber? delves into the culture wars swirling online.
Alexi Mostrous, host of Hoaxed and Sweet Bobby is back for this series, interested in what happened to Heard and who might have been responsible. Like Runaway Joe, RTÉ’s latest series which concluded earlier this month, we can hear and feel the investigation in full flow and across continents as the series goes on. Mostrous talks to former spies, data scientists, and disinformation experts.
The third episode delves into dubious Twitter accounts in Chile and has a trove of hundreds of thousands of tweets in which to examine. One particular anti-Heard phrase has been tweeted over 1,000 times by about 100 accounts in a matter of hours, the team finds.
Social media is called an echo chamber, but the Depp-Heard case is also one that is said to have been decided by the court of public opinion. Cliches, perhaps, but ultimately Who Trolled Amber? says it’s a story about how our own thoughts and opinions can be moulded without us even realising.
Taylor Lorenz is Extremely Online - well, that is the name of her book - exploring the various trends that come and go on social media. The tech journalist examines misinformation and has partnered with Vox Media for a new video podcast, Power User, that begins on March 21. It will feature guests discussing stories, trends, and personalities shaping the internet and tech world.
"It's fundamentally a chat show between me and interesting, insightful figures shaping the business, media, and political landscape through tech," says Lorenz. Like all the shows mentioned above, it seems like online misinformation is one of the standout podcast trends through the first three months of 2024.
