The COVID−19 Vaccination Campaign and Disinformation on Twitter: The Role of Opinion Leaders and Political Social Media Influencers in the Italian Debate on Green Pass

Authors

  • Sara Monaci Polytechnic University of Turin
  • Simone Persico Polytechnic University of Turin

Keywords:

political Twitter, disinformation, opinion leadership, political social media influencers, critical analytics

Abstract

In Italy, the Twitter debate on the green pass ignited a conflict between mainstream positions in favor of restrictions, and opposite opinions extremely critical of government measures, also characterized by disinformation. Drawing from the classic Katz and Lazarsfeld model of influence, this article investigates the role of opinion leaders as well as that of political social media influencers (PSMIs) in fueling disinformation on the green pass. Thanks to a computational analysis of Twitter contents (4 million+) and the use of critical metrics and social network analysis (SNA), we identified a limited number of influential profiles endorsing critical positions on the green pass. Their interaction networks analysis also showed how both opinion leaders and PSMIs spread disinformation and conspiracy theories through a dissemination strategy aimed at diverting their followers from Twitter toward “below-the-radar” channels (e.g., Rumble), where positions on political issues tend to be more hyper-partisan.

Author Biographies

Sara Monaci, Polytechnic University of Turin

Sara Monaci is Associate Professor in Media and Communication at Politecnico di Torino, (DIST). She’s Delegate of the Rector for Cinema and Media Engineering (Bachelor and Master degree).  She teaches Multimedia communication, Future Storytelling, ICT, Communication and Society in the course of degree in Cinema and Media Engineering (Politecnico di Torino) and she’s member of the International Research Network Sociology of Culture for ESA (European Sociological Association). In the past years she was Visiting Scholar at London School of Economics, UK, (2018), Brown University, US, (2007). Her research interests involve Internet studies, digital media & political extremism, social media & misinformation/fake news, storytelling. Among her latest publications: Monaci, S. (2021), The Pandemic of Conspiracies in the COVID-19 Age: How Twitter Reinforces Online Infodemic, ONLINE JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION AND MEDIA TECHNOLOGIES, M. Bastas Publishing, pp. 11, Vol. 11, ISSN: 1986-3497, DOI: 10.30935/ojcmt/11203; Monaci, S.(2020). “The Propaganda Machine: Social Media Bias and the Future of Democracy”, In: REIMAGINING COMMUNICATION: MEANING, pp. 233-247, Routledge; Monaci, S.(2020). Social Media Campaigns Against Violent Extremism: A New Approach to Evaluating Video Storytelling. “International Journal of Communication”, 14, 24.

Simone Persico, Polytechnic University of Turin

Phd Student at Politecnico di TorinoInteruniversity Department in Urban Studies and Planning (DIST)simone.persico@polito.it+39 0110903257

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Published

2022-11-30

Issue

Vol. 16 (2022)

Section

Articles

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