Exploring the dynamics of Qatargate discussions on Facebook in Italy

Media are a particularly relevant arena for studying the representations and social construction of corruption. However, the role of social media is still an open question in corruption and anti-corruption studies (Berti et al. 2020). The growth of media has unavoidably resulted in an increase in the number of voices and messages, as well as a loss of validity for conventional media (Van Aelst et al. 2017; Weimann, Brosius 2016). Social media has also intensified a process of disintermediation in which new kinds of actors have entered the public discourse (Goel et al. 2012). Following the theoretical framework just illustrated, we will investigate the discussions dynamics on Qatargate, one of the worst scandals in the history of the European Parliament that involved some Italian politicians. One of our goals is to add knowledge in the field, trying to challenge over-normative approaches. We will try to demonstrate that while social media can help fight corruption, in some cases the discussion of corruption on social media can present critical aspects just like legacy media. Through the analysis of the discussions on Qatargate on Facebook from December 9, 2022 to January 31, 2023 in Italy (9,550 and 4,771 posts published respectively on public pages and groups, collected through CrowdTangle) we will try answering the following questions: ▪️ What are the dynamics of the discussion about Qatargate on Facebook? ▪️ What kind of users intervene on social media to discuss about Qatargate? ▪️ Is it possible to detect problematic behaviors aimed at distorting the debate? We will analyze the sub-topics related to the Qatargate with a classification of the type of actors who posted contents on this case. We will also conduct a network analysis aimed at analyzing accounts acting in a coordinated manner in order to influence the social construction of corruption (CooRnet)