THE INFLUENCE OF INFLUENCERS: Who they are, why we follow them, how much they earn, and how much the gurus of social media communication really matter.
From “Pandoro Gate” to artificial intelligence. Stories and secrets of Italian influencers. Not just Chiara Ferragni, Khaby Lame, and Gianluca Vacchi, the atlas of the new stars of social media communication in the book by Rai journalists, out today, February 13, Marlin editore.
What do two “traditional” reporters do to recount—through a figure that has now entered our imagination, that of the influencer—the social and digital revolution we are experiencing? An investigation.
And L’influenza degli influencer (Marlin editore) by Rai journalists Daniele Morgera and Emanuela Ronzitti is an investigation in every sense of the word: carried out in the field, involving influencers, content creators, industry professionals, communicators, and experts.
With lots of questions and a wall poster on which to record discoveries and progress.
A guide to the social media galaxy in Italy which – without claiming to be exhaustive – reviews well-known and lesser-known influencers, diverse in terms of topics and training, approach to the profession and collaborations with brands, to reveal what lies behind the success of people who exert power over us: the mysterious power of influencers.
“The idea for this book came about in the wake of what happened in Roccaraso in January 2025, with the picturesque invasion of tourists triggered by the posts of Neapolitan TikToker Rita De Crescenzo. 20,000 people traveling at the click of a button,” explains Emanuela Ronzitti – That event marked a before and after. It was the first time we saw firsthand the power of influencers, capable of moving masses not only in the virtual world, but also in the real world. This is the starting point for the investigative journey of two old-school reporters who delve deeper and deeper into the phenomenon, discovering, reasoning, interviewing, and using the only great weapon journalism has ever had: asking questions and seeking answers.”
From the social media “avalanche” that hit Roccaraso to “Pandoro Gate,” passing through the tools of the trade and the market, the flourishing of specialized agencies that represent influencers and sell their services, the follower market, competition with TV and other media, the narrative unfolds, investigating the most diverse categories: wellness, food, science, lifestyle, travel, cars, fashion, video games, but also poetry, philosophy, faith and non-profit, politics and journalism, up to very curious sub-categories such as cemetery influencers.
The authors’ investigation, which also includes the experience of spending 24 hours with an influencer, is wide-ranging: from a creative, communicative, linguistic, sociological, entrepreneurial, commercial, and legal point of view. We thus discover that in Italy, the rules governing the sector have been put down in black and white by Agcom, the Italian Communications Authority, with a code of conduct for professional influencers, i.e., those with at least 500,000 followers, which also applies to virtual influencers, i.e., those created with artificial intelligence tools. Since 2025, an Ateco code has been created to identify the creator’s activity for tax purposes. Treccani reported the word ‘influencer’ among its neologisms for the first time in 2017, and the golden age of this category is expected to be between 2013 and 2023, when advertising companies discovered that campaigns and activities could be built through these professionals operating on social media.
Then there is the section dedicated to language. From ‘like’ to ‘likare’, from ‘link’ to ‘linkare’, from ‘love’ to ‘lovvare’, and then ‘swipare’, ‘bannare’, ‘ghostare’, ‘streammare’: the list of verbs coined by social media and now absorbed into Italian, especially the language spoken by teenagers, is already long. But there is also a section focused on the impact of social media on election campaigns and politics, which is now unavoidable and absolutely decisive.
And finally, artificial intelligence: at the end, the authors wonder how AI will disrupt the characteristics of social media, their use, and the work of digital creators. What will the identikit of the new generation of influencers look like? There are several possible scenarios, which inevitably involve digital education, i.e., a culture of the public.
Who are the potential readers of the book? Daniele Morgera answers:
“Social media is usually a frontier that separates old and new generations. On the one hand, there are those who disapprove of it, fear it, and try to ignore it; on the other, there are those who are attracted to it, live in it, and cannot do without it. This book, on the other hand, attempts to make social media a common ground for uniting alphas and boomers, young and old, through the new protagonists of modern communication: influencers. Their stories make up what is probably the first Italian atlas dedicated to this fascinating figure, which we try to describe in its entirety: how they are born, who and what they are, why we follow them, and what they will become with the development of artificial intelligence.”
WE ARE NOW ALL increasingly digital and in our imagination, which mixes the virtual and the real on a daily basis, a completely new figure has emerged: that of the influencer. In this category, we find an “extended family” made up of both traditional celebrities who project themselves onto the web and stars who were born and raised entirely online. Influencers are able to influence millions of consumers, spread new styles and behavioral models, and win over a diverse audience by arousing different feelings and reactions: curiosity, fascination, envy, a sense of belonging, and a desire to emulate. They mobilize virtual masses around the world, but that’s not all: they fuel a persuasive machine that produces an enormous and growing flow of money.
They are undoubtedly the new protagonists of cross-media communication and have profoundly changed advertising mechanisms, transforming their desire and ability to appear into a real profession. Courted by companies, they are present in almost all sectors. It is difficult to know how many there really are, but we can try to capture some “fragments” of this unstoppable creative flow that runs through the highways of Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, and X, we can try to pin them down through a survey conducted ad hoc by two expert reporters who venture into this world without pretending to explain the phenomenon, but with the intention of getting to know it better, analyzing the most followed Italian influencers capable of creating cross-cutting and surprising communities.
To try to understand what they are and what they will be. But above all, how much they really matter, beyond their followers.
The authors
DANIELE MORGERA, Rai journalist for “Giornale Radio.” He covers social phenomena, science, and new technologies. Among the voices of historic Radio 1 news programs (“Radio Anch’io,” “La Radio ne parla,” “Inviato Speciale”), he has hosted Gr3 and Gr1 at midnight. In the past, he has worked in print media (Il Messaggero, Il Mattino, Il Golfo, Corriere del Mezzogiorno) and for the international television broadcaster Euronews, based in Lyon, France. His published essays include: Il commenda, Angelo Rizzoli l’uomo che inventò un’isola (La città del Sole, 2002), Cronache della pandemia (La Bussola, 2022), Li chiamavano i Magnifici 7 (La Bussola, 2024), Le mani sulla storia. How magistrates tried to (re)make Italy (with Giuseppe Gargani – Rubbettino, 2025).
EMANUELA RONZITTI, Rai journalist for “Giornale Radio.” She covers social and lifestyle issues, science, and new technologies. She began writing for ‘Libero’ and “Il Giornale.” She then moved to television with Sky’s Canale 10, Gold TV, and IES TV, where she hosted “Filo Diretto.” In 2006, she collaborated with Rai International as the author of the program Sportello Italia for Italians around the world. For years, she was the author of Storie Italiane, where she also produced several reports, Linea Verde, Linea Verde Life, Linea Verde Gran tour, and Vita in Diretta, programs broadcast on Rai 1. She currently hosts “l’Italia in diretta” and “Indipendente-mente” on Radio 1 Rai, a program that helps listeners navigate the maze of addictions.
