All that was missing from Chiara Ferragni's interview with Fazio

That Chiara Ferragni's participation in yesterday's episode of Che Tempo Che Fa, Sunday, March 3, would be a success was to be expected. That Fabio Fazio, author and presenter of the program, wouldn't ask all the necessary questions to unravel the Balocco case, perhaps. An interview that began with Fazio's statement, «I'm not a magistrate, but I think this is the right opportunity to be honest», it navigated superficial themes with extreme precision. The «wave of hate» on social media, the pursuit of perfection, gratitude to followers who support her, and a brief mention of «priorities to protect» were the protagonists of a meticulously detailed show, which granted the digital entrepreneur an hour of airtime to take control of the public narrative. Except that, as the «game» she chose to participate in dictates, during and after the interview, journalists, colleagues, and users highlighted the complete lack of depth in her appearance, she who churns out content for a living.

Interviewed by Fazio about the Balocco case, on the reasons that led her and her company to advertise the donation to Regina Margherita hospital misleadingly, Ferragni brought up other charitable actions, from the fee from Sanremo 2023 donated to the association DIRE, to the fundraising for San Raffaele hospital carried out together with her husband Fedez during the Covid-19 emergency. There was no mention of the Trudi and Dolci Preziosi cases, two collaborations signed by The Blonde Salad now at the center of two new fraud investigations. Ferragni didn't mention them, as the script demanded she stuck to the charitable events that went well, but above all, Fazio didn't question any of her statements regarding them. The only pseudo-inquisitorial question was about the appropriateness of partnerships that combine commercial and philanthropic purposes. «In hindsight,» responds The Blonde Salad, «it's better to disconnect them,» with the luck that two out of four were successful and can be used to regain public approval.

Another of the most ambiguous statements made by Chiara Ferragni on Che Tempo Che Fa involved social media. The platforms she posts on are at the center of the Balocco debate as much as the pandori, but last night she called them «a game,» where sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. Although for the rest of the population that doesn't share #adv, it may be true, Instagram is not exactly a pastime for Chiara Ferragni, but her job, the same one that has brought her fame and wealth. Regarding social media, almost nothing was said: Ferragni thanked her followers, as in an Instagram story shot twelve different times to share #love with her #community, but she wasn't asked about the profiles, comments, and terms blocked from her account post-investigation, nor about the excessive use the influencer makes of her children's image online, which Fazio briefly implies with the paraphrase «two priorities to protect.» Yet, Ferragni has made her community and her role as a mother the cornerstones of her communication, the same ones that in recent years have brought her new followers and lucrative collaborations. As emphasized by Codacons, which published a list of questions that Fazio could have asked the digital entrepreneur the day before the program aired, there are many points that were not taken into consideration: «Why did you limit comments on your profiles for a period, allowing only positive ones to be seen?»; «Is it true that there may be followers on your profiles that you have bought?»; «In many moments and posts, is it true that you dressed your children with Ferragni clothing lines attributable to you? Do you consider it advertising at that time?»

The first time Ferragni was invited to Che Tempo Che Fa was in 2017, when she had just announced her engagement to Fedez, celebrated her thirtieth birthday, and shared the news of her first pregnancy online. The year she herself defined as «of maturity» coincided with the most beautiful events of her life. Fazio asked her about her job as an influencer, her visits to Harvard as a case study, and Christmas in Los Angeles with her family. Amidst the presenter's jokes about not knowing what to post and the most successful contents of the entrepreneur's account, Ferragni made perhaps the only statement with the right weight she has ever made on live television: «Sharing is synonymous with power.» Last night, she spoke about the importance of showing imperfections, how on social media, she tells a lot, «but not everything.» Choosing what not to share, after all, is power.