Why are people mad at Chappell Roan… and are online bots to blame?
Chappell Roan has been targeted online. (John Shearer/Getty)
Lesbian icon Chappell Roan has been embroiled in controversy lately, following an incident involving a young fan. But a new report has found that the drama was exacerbated by a targeted online bot campaign.
Chappell Roan was pulled into allegations on Saturday (March 21) about supposed bad behaviour. Brazilian footballer Jorginho took to Instagram to declare that his step-daughter and wife saw the 28-year-old pop star at a hotel breakfast, and that the young girl walked past Chappell Roan’s table and smiled at her.
Jorginho said the 11-year-old was subsequently approached and admonished by a “large security guard” and was left “sitting there in tears.
“It’s sad to see this kind of treatment coming from those who should understand the importance of fans,” Jorginho wrote.
Jorginho’s wife, Catherine Harding, doubled down and claimed Chappell Roan was responsible for the behaviour of her staff.
The posts went viral online, with Roan receiving a large amount of abuse and condemnation.
The security guard in question, Pascal Duvier, has since taken full responsibility for the event. “The actions I took were not on behalf of Chappell Roan, her personal security team, her management, or any other individuals,” Duvier stated.
‘23% were likely generated from bots’
Chappell Roan’s strict boundaries and largely unapologetic stance – an attempt to maintain her privacy in the face of mounting fame – have also led to controversy in the past.
Most recently, she gave paparazzi a taste of their own medicine. She also left her talent agency after the company’s CEO was named in the Epstein files.
However, the latest update in the saga is that the most recent online campaign against Roan included bots.
BuzzFeed has published a report from the research company GUDEA that sheds light on this online targeting of Roan.
GUDEA analysed 100,030 posts, finding 23% were likely generated from bots. The posts were from 54,334 unique users across seven platforms between March 20 to 22.
Also, the report found that 4.2% of users contributing to the Chappell Roan discourse at this time were very likely to be bots.
“The incident prompted intense personal attacks on Chappell Roan, calls for boycotts, and significant misinformation (including satirical/fictional embellishment spreading as fact),” the report details.
“Discourse ranged from legitimate fan criticism and debate about celebrity privacy vs. fan treatment, to coordinated attack campaigns and considerable satirical/humorous content that blurred the line with misinformation.”
