Abstract

Social Media Challenges (SMCs) have gained immense popularity within social networking platforms. While SMCs have piqued the interest of social media users, journalists and researchers, there has been a notable absence of efforts to examine the news coverage surrounding SMCs. Thus, the present paper aims to elucidate the journalistic portrayal of this phenomenon within the Italian context. Additionally, it seeks to draw comparisons with the discourse emanating from content posted on X (Twitter). The findings reveal a noteworthy convergence across the media analyzed and highlight how X predominantly functions as an amplification tool for journalistic reports rather than a forum where users contribute with divergent perspectives, opinions, voices, and values