«As the infection curve shows» Data-fetishism and reification of the medical discourse on Facebook during the Covid-19 epidemic

This study examines how data about the Covid-19 epidemic has been shared on social media, particularly by influential Italian medical professionals. To do this, we collected 9,378 public posts published from January 1, 2020, to December 31, 2023 on Facebook. Our research explores various aspects of medical discourse, including the use and misuse of statistics, how the relationship between the epidemic curve and the actual epidemic was depicted, and the detached or elitist ways of communicating scientific knowledge. We frame our research using concepts of fetishism and reification, applied through a discourse-theoretical analysis. Our findings highlight the ambivalent role of medical professionals as social media’s influencers in health communication during the epidemic and the ways in which medical discourse has been politicized.