Abstract
Didier Raoult has acquired media authority in the debates on the treatment of COVID-19 in France thanks to his professional competence, raising issues of legitimacy and authority. He presents himself as a “star of infectious diseases”, belonging to the “elite”. In the press and online comments, the scientificity of the subject is mixed with considerations that may seem trivial. This paper will analyze the way in which scientificity is expressed in the media coverage of the scientist but also the way in which online communities discuss, argue, and become involved in polemics and controversies concerning him. It will analyze the links and shifts between scientific and parascientific communication. It will, therefore, deal with both the discourse and the staging around the scientist Didier Raoult and the circulation of his words and positions through online media and citizen communities.
Highlights
Communication around DidierDidier Raoult has acquired media authority in the debates on the treatment of COVID19 in France thanks to his professional competence, raising issues of legitimacy and authority
Examine issues pertaining to the parascientific communication communication around around the the figure figure of of Prof
Raoult during a discursive moment of the COVID-19 health crisis, it appears that the attention given to a scientific debate by the press or by social media helps produce different narratives that present the events in different ways
Summary
Didier Raoult has acquired media authority in the debates on the treatment of COVID19 in France thanks to his professional competence, raising issues of legitimacy and authority. He presents himself as a “star of infectious diseases” (see, for example, Le Soir, Marseille”). This paper will analyze the way in which scientificity is expressed in the media coverage of the scientist and the way in which online communities discuss, argue, and become involved in polemics and controversies. This paper will, deal with both the discourse and the staging around the scientist Didier Raoult and the circulation of his words and positions through online media and citizen communities
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