In 1941 Orson Welles created his first masterpiece: the film Fourth Estate it showcased the excessive power of the printed paper (even if in the end the protagonist, a publishing magnate, dies alone, taking with him the secret of his unhappiness). In 1976 the film Fifth Estate he won 4 Oscars by telling the power of television through the story of the first man “killed because he had a low audience rating”.
Around these days there is in Italian theaters Sixth Powera representation of the dark power of social networks shown through the ability to destroy a famous television host, perhaps leading him to suicide. In the theater, hackers are responsible, but in real life we are the bad guys on social media. We who never forgive, we who accuse, we who mock, we who invent stories to get more likes, and also ultimately we who boast of every banality putting vanity before everything else.
Today newspapers, TV and radio are invaded by the details and comments of the tragic story of the restaurateur from Lodi and there is no one who says “I made a mistake”: there is no journalist who says that that news of the homophobic review had to be verified before being given and praised, but praising it brought clicks and we are now only looking for those; there isn’t one of those who criticized the lady on social media who says “I’m sorry, I could have used less harsh expressions”.
And to react to the pillory, to denounce the brutality of certain methods, today another one was created against the alleged pillory expert: it is It’s easy today to say that it’s Selvaggia Lucarelli’s fault and rage against the successful influencer (journalists hate successful influencers). It’s easy and it’s wrong.
Malice is rampant on social networks. You can see it from the most innocuous things: if there is a typo in a postis relaunched with the accusation of ignorance; if you express an opinion you’re a sellout to who knows who. Like playing near a high voltage antenna: if you make a mistake it’s over. We are ruthless. Instead of using the immense power of a network that connects us all to build something important, we use it to destroy: every day has its own little totem to break down. “Put flowers in your cannons,” the pacifists sang half a century ago. Today we should say “add a little kindness in your posts.”