What Meghan Markle and Blake Lively’s Smear Campaigns Reveal About Media Manipulation

Blake Lively’s recent allegations of a smear campaign orchestrated by her co-star Justin Baldoni’s PR team have pulled back the curtain on the darker realities of Hollywood’s publicity machine. This revelation sheds light on a troubling pattern that extends beyond the entertainment industry and into the British monarchy, where Meghan Markle has endured a relentless and calculated smear campaign. Both cases reveal the weaponization of media and PR tactics to target and discredit high-profile women, reflecting a systemic issue that demands accountability.

The Mechanics of a Smear Campaign by the Use of Journalists and Insiders

The Meghan Markle smear was not a spontaneous series of negative stories but rather a well-coordinated operation involving palace insiders and journalists. Smear campaigns rely heavily on a network of journalists and insiders to spread misinformation and control narratives. In the case of Meghan Markle, this machinery has been evident through organized efforts by media journalists.
The Meghan Markle smear campaign utilized systematic leaks, insider narratives, and media deals to manipulate public perception. Journalists such as Dan Wootton and Piers Morgan admitted to receiving leaks from Kensington Palace. Meanwhile, Omid Scobie revealed how tabloids were incentivized to drop negative stories about senior royals like Prince William in exchange for publishing damaging narratives about Meghan.

Sources within the Royal Family have also been implicated. Royal biographer Robert Jobson revealed that palace aides frequently leaked stories to the press to protect senior royals like Prince William and Kate Middleton. Royal aides often leaked stories to hide unfavorable coverage of William, actively shaping a narrative that consistently showed Meghan in a negative light.

Key Accusations and Narratives

The Meghan Markle smear campaign involved persistent narratives to discredit her character. The narrative that Meghan Markle made Kate Middleton cry during a bridesmaid dress fitting, widely circulated in the media, was later debunked by Meghan herself during her Oprah Winfrey interview, where she revealed it was actually Kate who made her cry. The journalist who reported the story, Camilla Tominey, later disclosed that the claim about Meghan Markle allegedly making Kate Middleton cry was based on information from “two highly credible royal sources.” Additionally, press outlets like The Daily Mail and The Sun labeled Meghan as “Duchess Difficult,” portraying her as demanding and challenging to work with, often citing unnamed palace aides as their sources.

The smear campaign did not remain confined to traditional media. Social media trolls and orchestrated campaigns, including bots, amplified the negativity. Bot Sentinel reported a coordinated effort targeting Meghan, with hashtags like #Megxit trending globally.

Court Records Confirm Palace Leaks Against Sussexes

Court filings in Prince Harry’s legal battle with British tabloids confirm that negative stories about the Sussexes often originated from palace insiders and members of the royal family. The evidence highlights a coordinated effort to brief the press against Harry and Meghan.

Former Tatler writer Anna Pasternak supports these claims, stating the royal family regularly leaks stories to shift public focus. She noted this pattern intensified after Harry and Meghan’s 2018 Australia tour, when their popularity surged. “They were too popular,” she said, explaining that the spotlight was deliberately redirected to senior royals like Charles, Camilla, William, and Kate.

Harry’s Netflix documentary echoed these allegations, accusing palace officials of collaborating with the media to spread misinformation. Pasternak added that attempts to expose this briefing culture in the British press were blocked, showing a system designed to protect the monarchy’s image at the Sussexes’ expense.

Shared Tactics in Smear Campaigns Against Women

The smear campaigns against Blake Lively and Meghan Markle reveal the interconnected networks of PR firms and media willing to vilify high-profile women at the expense of others. Both cases highlight the exploitation of public perception through misinformation and manipulation, a disturbing trend in industries from Hollywood to the British monarchy. PR consultant Melissa Nathan, sister of journalist Sara Nathan, allegedly orchestrated a campaign to “bury” Blake Lively by spreading false narratives, suppressing positive stories, and overwhelming social media with negative threads. This connection between the sisters raises serious ethical concerns, as Sara Nathan has been instrumental in driving the Meghan Markle smear campaign, using similar tactics. Both cases relied on saturating the media with biased articles while silencing supportive voices, making it clear that these coordinated efforts are far from coincidental.

Both campaigns weaponized public perception by creating confusion through mixed messaging, a tactic Melissa Nathan described in text messages as “confusing people so much that they accept the dominant narrative.” The parallels shows a disturbing pattern of media manipulation to discredit high-profile women.

Sara Nathan and the Smear Campaign Fueled by Royal Propaganda

Regarding Sara Nathan, she has played a significant role in perpetuating damaging narratives about Meghan Markle, especially through her work with the New York Post. Her stories have painted Meghan in a relentlessly negative light, fueling the ongoing smear campaign against the Duchess of Sussex in the American press. Nathan’s reporting often amplifies misinformation and conspiracy theories surrounding Meghan and Prince Harry, aligning closely with the Royal Family’s propaganda machine.

In contrast, her sister, Melissa Nathan’s PR firm has been directly implicated in using underhanded tactics to discredit Lively, and the parallels to the coordinated attacks on Meghan are hard to ignore. These tactics include planting misleading narratives and targeting vulnerable periods in their victims’ lives, such as when Meghan was experiencing postpartum depression.

It becomes increasingly evident that both sisters operate within networks designed to manipulate public perception. Sara Nathan’s role in shaping anti-Sussex rhetoric and Melissa Nathan’s alleged smear campaign against Lively reveal a disturbing pattern of targeting high-profile women with calculated cruelty.

These two women, whose careers seem built on spreading harmful narratives, deserve to face the consequences for their actions. As the connection between the Royal Family’s propaganda and these campaigns becomes clearer, calls for transparency and justice are growing louder. It’s time to shine a light on the unethical practices that fuel such smear campaigns and hold those responsible to account.

The Role of Racism and Misogyny

The Meghan Markle smear campaign was steeped in racism and misogyny, with headlines like “How Black Will the Royal Baby Be?” from CNN International and references to Meghan’s “exotic DNA” in The Daily Mail. These narratives perpetuated harmful stereotypes, contrasting Meghan’s actions unfavorably against Kate Middleton’s “English rose” image. This weaponization of Meghan’s race and gender also shows the systemic biases faced by women of color in public life.

Additionally, palace insiders and media figures did the same. They labelled Meghan as “too ambitious” and accused of “breaking royal protocol” for engaging in feminist activism.

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Lessons Learned and the Path Forward

Blake Lively’s recent smear campaign exposure against her reveals disturbing parallels in tactics across industries. These campaigns showcase the power of coordinated PR strategies to manipulate public perception and silence high-profile women.

Smear campaigns rely on flooding media channels with biased narratives while suppressing favorable coverage. Headlines like “Meghan Made Kate Cry” or “Archewell website goes to Gold Digger” highlight the repetitive negativity Meghan faces. Similarly, Blake Lively’s smear involved planting false stories to undermine her credibility. These tactics aim to confuse public opinion and ensure the dominant narrative prevails.

However, public resistance offers hope. These women’s resilience, coupled with growing awareness of these tactics, highlights the importance of transparency and accountability in media and PR. Exposing these campaigns challenges the narratives that vilify individuals and calls for ethical standards to prevent future smear campaigns. Meghan Markle and Blake Lively and all other high-profile women’s experiences illuminate the urgent need for a more truthful, fairer media landscape.