Julia Wandlett has gained over a million followers on social media by posting “evidence” that she was Madeleine McCann.
The Polish international first posted on Instagram in early 2023 under the username “I am Madeleine McCann”, before appearing on podcasts and an American chat show.
At his trial, where he was later found guilty of harassing the missing girl’s parents, Wandlett said he was not an “attention-getter”.
He added that he does not post online for financial gain and only started posting on social media about his allegations because police “ignored” him.
During her evidence it emerged that she received money, which she said totaled around £400, from her “supporters” who wanted a lie detector test and because her boyfriend dumped her without savings.
On her Instagram and TikTok accounts, as well as filming herself singing in the kitchen and playing with her cat, Wandlett posted comparisons of her facial features to pictures of Madeleine, comparisons to Madeleine’s sister Emily McCann and DNA test results to prove to her followers that she was the missing girl.
He also released audio recordings he made last year when he went to the McCanns’ home to request a DNA test.
However, in her previous posts on TikTok, Wandlett’s videos focused more on her playing guitar, singing and wishing her cat, Monte, a happy birthday.
In one video, Wandlett can be seen standing in the kitchen singing a song she wrote, “I Didn’t Know,” among videos of many covers of popular songs.
When she attracted media attention in March 2023, Wandlett, also known as Julia Wendell and Julia Faustina, traveled to the United States with American psychologist Fia Johansson, who allegedly took her phone and passport.
The couple appeared on US chat show Dr Phil, where Wandlett said: “When I thought I could be Madeleine, I called the Polish embassy. I called the British embassy. Nobody listened.
I decided to create this Instagram and try to use the power of social media.
The host of the show, whose full name is Phil McGraw, told Wandlet: “She (Wandlet’s mother) says she went to the hospital and gave birth to you.”
“My mom, when I asked her for DNA before all these situations, when I asked her for some photos from her pregnancy, some photos from her childhood, when I was three or four years old, she wouldn’t, she wouldn’t,” Wandlett said.
Wandlett also appeared in a series of live interviews with YouTuber Sean Atwood and aired a secret recording of his phone conversation with police detective Mark Draycott of Operation Grange, the ongoing investigation into Madeleine’s disappearance, in one episode.
In the call, Mr Draycott told Wandlett not to enter Leicester or call the British police claiming to be Madeleine or he might be arrested.
Wandlett said in court that he was “threatened” by Mr Draycott in the call.
In one of the episodes of BBC Why do you hate me? In a January 2024 podcast, Wandlett expressed regret over his online post that it might be Madeleine.
Wandlett said in the interview that if he could go back in time, he would “never go on social media” because “it can destroy you.”
“I remember from the first day of my social media journey, I spent a lot of time on the Internet. I was looking at what people were writing, what they were saying, if they believed…” he said.
Wandlett said she received death threats on social media but continued to post because she “wanted to know the truth.”
Asked if she thought about how her social media posts would make the McCanns feel, Wandlett said in an interview with the BBC: “I thought about it but I had to put myself first because it’s my life.
“I absolutely wanted to know who I was. I knew it would make them sad, but they want to find their child, so I believe it’s a hope, always a hope, and I felt like I was doing the right thing.”
Wandlett, 24, was found guilty at Leicester Crown Court of harassing Kate and Gary McCann on Friday, but was acquitted of stalking them.
His co-accused, Karen Sprague, was found not guilty of stalking and harassment.
