The Comical Inquisition:Striscia la Notiziaand the Politics of Fake News on Italian Television

Abstract

This article presents a discussion and analysis of the most prominent fake news show on Italian television, Striscia la Notizia, to demonstrate how it can effectively mount critiques against the political class, expose institutional inefficiencies, and mobilize audiences for matters of public interests. In order to analyze Striscia's original brand of journalism, the article starts with a thorough account of the historical conditions that have fostered its rise to prominence. The second part of the article is based on a textual analysis of a number of segments from various episodes, which I selected in order to provide an account of the techniques, themes, and language adopted by the show. By providing both theoretical and empirical knowledge, I therefore wish to interrogate the ways in which fake news programs such as Striscia can create effective sites for citizens to engage with matters of public interest, while in the process challenging political institutions and the traditional role of mediation of official news outlets.

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