Let's look at the analytical data in this post to see what the people were interested in and where they got information.
Interesting You cannot continue to have one foot in two shoes, – Alberto de Filippis about Fratelli d'Italia
Italians empathize to the "War in Ukraine"
Google Trends app shows how Italians searched for "War in Ukraine" on Google. As the chart shows, the peak interest occurred between February 24 and 26. It was because of the breaking news that the whole world was interested in and was looking for primary sources.
So, at the beginning of the war, the queries were googled very frequently because there was a vacuum of information in the leading media resources. As the war dragged on, interest dropped. The racist blitzkrieg failed, and the Italian users found direct sources of information they trusted without Google's help. Activity in the search has decreased as news sites where you can quickly track the situation at the front in Ukraine have become known. However, the search trends are still ongoing.
Italy was looking for ways to help Ukraine
Italy did not stand aside and was looking for ways to help Ukraine. Clearly, the majority of methods were sought in January and March, when they were desperately needed, when waves of refugees streamed to the EU borders, escaping from Russian occupation and missile attacks. Today, the search trend among Italian users continues, but there is no such explosion.
Putin's Interaction with Italian Politicians Salvini and Draghi
Italians were also very interested in Putin's relations with Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, a politician, and Prime Minister Mario Draghi, an economist. After all, it was important for Italians to know whether politicians support Putin's government or are looking for ways to end Russia's war against Ukraine, as all civilized countries have supported Ukraine.
A few weeks before the elections, the Italians were also interested in the fact that Italian Senator Adolfo Urso, a member of the Brothers of Italy party, came to Ukraine to set contacts. It has never happened before that a party that has not yet won the elections in Italy has undertaken to establish cooperation with Kyiv. All this confirms that Ukraine has become extremely important for Rome's foreign policy against the background of military events and geopolitical conflict between the West and Russia.
The top websites for Ukraine-related searches online
But after looking for the most recent news from Ukraine, where do Italian users go and what do they read?
Using Google search queries about the conflict between Russia and Ukraine as a starting point, we determined the share of search traffic to Italian news websites.
Data from the Ahrefs application for tracking search patterns.
With the aid of the program, we were able to gather information on the websites Italian Google users visit after looking for news about the invasion of Russia and Ukraine.
The study reveals that top 5 websites update their content on the situation in Ukraine the most frequently. Identified sites, Sky Italia (18% of the traffic), RaiNews (12%), La Republica (11%) and Il Sole 24 Ore (5%) most frequently updated data on Russia's war against Ukraine.
Mostly, the material is offered in the context of denouncing the Russian Federation's aggressiveness and supporting Ukraine.
How the Italian media reports on the Ukrainian events
However, in an effort to maintain an objective and unbiased editorial policy, Italian journalists also cover the official position of Moscow. In the recent period, the news channels often mention the Kremlin's reaction to the discovery of mass graves of tortured Ukrainians in Izyum, and the fact that the Russian authorities claim that this is not true. Leading Italian media also promptly provide information about the rocket attacks of the racists on peaceful Ukrainian cities, in particular Zaporizhzhia and Kryvyi Rih.
In the context of the war on the European continent, Italians are also concerned about the prices of bread and bakery products and the general increase in prices for products of plant origin.
One can often find comments that justify Russia’s behavior. Far from all of the news about Russia being covered from the Russian standpoint, Russia actions and their consequences have frequently been condemned.
Top 5 news portals expose the actions of Russia and the unacceptability of its military aggression. Some analytical materials criticize the Putin regime.
Regarding Ukraine, Italian journalists provide objective information citing facts about the latest events. Most of the top publications have a special section on Ukraine, which indicates the importance of Ukraine and the war with Russia for Italian society.
The news site RaiNews publishes several Ukrainian stories every day and covers a wide audience. The site has a separate column for Ukrainian news: "War in Ukraine", where news is updated in real-time. Publications are based on facts and confirmed sources.
At the same time, La Repubblica has a column "Ukraine-Russia". The stream contains only objective news and information with verified facts.
The Adnkronos website has a special news section on Ukraine. The publication does not hesitate to publish critical reports about Moscow – on war crimes, nuclear blackmail, and attempts to interfere in the Italian elections.
Ansa publishes articles that present the position of the parties to the conflict in a balanced manner, without subjective comments. The agency's materials contain both quotes from Putin and Peskov's propaganda statements and Ukraine's statements about the provocations of Russian terrorists at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
Ukraine is more important than ever for the election campaign in Italy
Italian society is interested in the future of Ukraine and its connections with Kyiv, according to the analysis of the most prominent web media in the country. The conflict between Russia and Ukraine and the standoff between Moscow and the West have grown in importance throughout the election campaign, which is being dominated by right-wing and far-right groups.
The left does not have a common opinion either. The majority of the Five Star Movement left-wingers oppose support for Ukraine, while other left- and center-left parties do not.
The Italian media support Ukraine while many established politicians on the right and on the left do not. There are no longer any narratives about "helping separatists in Donbas" or "protecting the Russian-speaking people," in contrast to the reporting of the Ukrainian-Russian war before the full-scale invasion.
The civilized world can no longer ignore the invasion of a sovereign country and the war crimes committed by Russia, a permanent UN Security Council member.
Masks are off. All European nations are aware of Putin's identity and the dangers Russia poses. Italians were also aware of the populists who looked up to Putin. Despite having won 37% in the 2018 elections, Matteo Salvini's League saw a decline in popularity from 19% to 13% this year. Since pro-Putin forces are losing support but can still form a coalition, predictions for the results of the Italian elections are cautiously optimistic for those who want Italy to be seen as a global leader and a prominent G7 and G20 member.