The Parascientific Communication around Didier Raoult’s Expertise and the Debates in the Media and on Digital Social Networks during the COVID-19 Crisis in France

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.

Keywords

• discourse analysis
• digital humanities
• textometry
• authority
• legitimacy