Ilaria Vitulano from Freie Universität Berlin / Weizenbaum-institutet, Germany has been invited to speak on:
The influence of Russian state-controlled narratives on alternative Italian news outlets
Abstract
This talk focuses on ongoing research into how Russian state-controlled narratives about the war in Ukraine circulate through alternative media ecosystems. Alternative media worldwide have been identified as preferred targets for pro-Kremlin narratives, and Italy is no exception. Drawing on framing and agenda-setting theory, we examine whether Russian narratives reach Italian audiences through two alternative outlets, compared to a mainstream outlet. Using text similarity and narrative analysis on matched triplets of Russian, mainstream, and alternative Italian articles, we find that mainstream coverage rarely reproduces Russian narratives, while alternative outlets share significantly more narratives with their Russian counterparts. This study provides empirical evidence that alternative media can act as a more permeable channel for state-sponsored disinformation than mainstream media.
Bio
Ilaria Vitulano is a doctoral student at Freie Universität Berlin and a research associate in the "Platform Algorithms and Digital Propaganda" group at the Weizenbaum Institute. Her current research focuses on state-controlled narratives and on the role of algorithms in the spread of disinformation.