Walking Wolf: From a wonderful, inspirational channel to a showcase for controversy. Or: how certain social media make us worse

As a mountain enthusiast, I followed with interest and wonder the adventures of the former chef and former alpine ski athlete Thomas Colussa and his dog on Instagram, among the Alpine peaks, for some time, at least until the bad story reported in the article.

From that moment, the owner of the profile indulged, via reel, in a series of more or less sensational invectives against the staff of the Venetian clinic where his Czechoslovakian wolf was hospitalized after the accident. And not only that: there is also space on the profile for other statements, addressed to different entities or people (such as, for example, the autonomous province of Bolzano), for more or less related reasons.

I don’t want to focus on the person or his actions – also because no judicial authority has yet ruled on the matter – but on another aspect: these controversial contents seem to generate much more traffic and engagement than those for which the channel was created, transforming a page once dedicated to the passion for the mountains and animals into a sort of bulletin board for outbursts.

Captain Obvious strikes again: every controversial piece of content mobilizes armies of users ready to like, share or comment, often shooting at assorted targets, be they the recipients of the influencer’s accusations, the government, the whole of Italy, etc.

Personally, however, I don’t think that Colussa is pursuing simple personal revenge with reel shots. Rather, social media seems to represent an important part of his entrepreneurial activity. If a piece of content generates more traffic, the business benefits. The risk, of course, is running into some complaints (as has already happened), but in view of minimum sentences, this type of media exposure can, unfortunately, be convenient.

The flip side of the coin, and at the same time the demonstration of how Meta’s algorithms work "at its best"is a spiral of negativity that not only drives away true enthusiasts, but fuels an ecosystem where anger and provocation are rewarded. Thus, what was a reference channel for mountain and animal lovers becomes yet another gravitational field of toxic contents and impulsive reactions, worsening both Colussa and ourselves, beyond the traumatic experience that he had to live through in spite of himself.

A real shame.