The reporter had made a number of unsubstantiated claims on her X account after conspiracy theories about Princess Kate’s whereabouts surfaced online.

A BBC reporter who fueled conspiracy theories about Princess Kate’s whereabouts has turned her account private following a tirade of critcism.

Sonja McLaughlan – a sports journalist at the BBC – made a number of claims about the Princess of Wales as fans speculated as to her whereabouts before her cancer announcement.

In one post on social media platform X, Sonja echoed conspiracy theories that the person Prince William had been spotted shopping with at a Windsor shop was not Kate.

In a now deleted post, she even claimed it could have been a body double, while William could have been an actor.

Sonja has since turned her social media private following harsh backlash after Kate’s shock cancer announcement last Friday. The Princess of Wales made an address to the nation where she revealed she was undergoing preventative chemotherapy for an unspecified form of cancer.

Before Kate’s unveiling, Sonja wrote: “Disturbing that newspapers like The Times are reporting this as fact. Headline ‘Kate seen in public for the first time’ when it’s clearly not her. As someone has said. Could be a couple of lookalikes making mischief.”

Commenting on a video which compared the Princess in the footage to other past photos of herself, the BBC freelance journalist added: “It’s so obviously not Kate. Some newspaper are reporting it as fact.

Princess Of Wales Announces She Is Receiving Chemotherapy For Cancer

Princess Kate made the shock announcement last Friday

“But it’s not her. No conspiracy theorist but all very odd.” The BBC filmed Kate’s announcement in the grounds at Windsor Castle last Wednesday, where the Princess opened up about her cancer diagnosis.

spoke openly about receiving “preventative chemotherapy” after doctors found cancer had been present during an abdominal procedure in January.

Since then, the Princess has been subject to a number of conspiracy theories online, with her absence sending the internet down a never-ending rabbit hole.

With the latest news, the fans have emerged to condemn those who participated in the fervent speculation.

Social media users have taken to X, formerly known as Twitter, in the moments following news of the Princess’s condition to share their well wishes for the royal. While speaking about the sadness for the Princess, they slammed their fellow users who spread false theories.

One said they were “crying” at the news and added a note for the active “trolls”. They said: “I hope all you trolls feel terrible for starting all this false narrative over Princess Kate. Prayers for her and her health. Prayers for her family.”

Another said they hoped the “trolls, conspiracy theorists” would “shut up now”. Someone else had a similar statement for the conspiracy theorists, branding them “nasty trolls”.

They said: “The nasty trolls who’ve hounded Princess Kate ought to take a look at themselves. I wonder how much profit social media firms have made from the ads sold around the unpleasant madness?”