‘The Covid vaccine was the greatest crime against humanity #Bove’, ’Edoardo Bove. Another victim of genocidal vaccines’, “This is the new normal in the post-vaccine era” were some of the tweets that appeared on X, a social network owned by Elon Musk, immediately after the illness of 22-year-old Fiorentina footballer Edoardo Bove. The match was interrupted and postponed until a later date. Images of him collapsed on the pitch surrounded by players, coaches and doctors were posted on the web. Many conspiracy theories related to Covid-19 and vaccination appeared among the messages of affection. According to ANSA’s reconstruction, the player had felt ill shortly after the first quarter of an hour of the match against Inter Milan, the youngster had already warned his handlers that he was not fit. A few steps and his legs could no longer cope. The narrative that arose from the affair is linked to the alleged correlation between the vaccine and a worsening physical condition. Myocarditis, brain haemorrhage and scientists ‘sold out to BigPharma who continue to deny the evidence’. Post with more than 65,000 views that contributed to the spread of the no-vax ideologies.
The study is based on the analysis of sixteen X profiles, not only from Italy but also from Spain and the Netherlands, which spread disinformation posts in the wake of Bove’s illness. The accounts that contributed to the dissemination of this erroneous narrative also shared posts about the increase in sudden illnesses, especially among young people, after the anti-Covid vaccination campaign, conspiracy theories, political accusations and scandals concerning public figures and criticism of the EU and NATO, support for Russia and the Brics, the conflict in Syria and Ukraine.
The most frequent comments on X are: ‘About Bove some “journalist” is already trying to muddy the waters and repeat the same hoax that was told about the player Ndicka. Bove actually seems to have had a heart attack and if two teammates had not stuck their tongues out at him he might not have made it’ or ’There has never been such a high number of sudden illnesses and unfortunately deaths in the world of football. The sports doctors who know what is happening and the federations who say nothing are primarily responsible for this massacre’.
The analysis conducted by the Luiss Data Lab showed that the accounts analysed linked the illness to a possible side effect of vaccines. In some cases, the hashtag #nessunacorrelazione, which, since the beginning of the pandemic, collects news and posts of people affected by various ailments, attributing their causes to the vaccine, was reused and shared.
The activity linked to this hashtag focuses mainly on sharing posts about sudden illnesses, with a particular focus on the world of sport, as in the case of the footballer Bove.
Among the main accounts analysed and polarising the online debate are well-known influencers who already hold the European record as the main spreaders of disinformation. These accounts, among the most active in relaunching content linked to the hashtag #nessunacorrelazione, have been propagating no-vax theories since 2020, questioning the safety of anti-Covid vaccines and linking them to alleged ‘sudden illnesses’ and deaths.
Casi del genere si erano già verificati con altri sportivi come il tennista turco Altug Celikbilek che, solo pochi giorni fa, ha avuto un’emorragia cerebrale nel match con il connazionale Yanki Erel durante il torneo Itf di Monastir, in Tunisia. Mentre veniva sottoposto ad un intervento chirurgico che gli ha salvato la vita, su X un utente spagnolo scriveva: «Seconda improvvisazione sportiva della giornata con Edoardo Bove. Sicuramente i vaccini non c’entrano nulla».
‘It happens systematically with any similar event,’ explains Walter Ricciardi, professor of hygiene and preventive medicine at the Catholic University, “when a person dies, the no-vaxes blame the vaccines”. Ricciardi was an advisor to Health Minister Roberto Speranza from 2020 to 2022, at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, when disinformation campaigns on medical issues reached their peak of visibility: ‘The no-vaxes are a heterogeneous category, characterised by communicative aggression, verbal violence to frighten people. And then there is also a side of functional illiteracy and distrust of science,’ the specialist continues, “but studies have ruled out any correlation of vaccines with side effects such as to inhibit distribution, because the benefits have always outweighed the risks”.
According to Ricciardi, ‘it is important for the media to refute this false news by listening to the experts’ opinion. Institutions should improve communication on vaccines, be direct and understandable to counter unnecessary scaremongering, all the more so now that the youngest people inform themselves mainly on social networks’.
Interview by: @michelangelogennaro Luiss Data Lab analysis
