Beyond the squirrel. The online debate on the grey squirrels invasion and its players by Politecnico di Milano

The spread of North American grey squirrels poses a threat to red squirrels, which are native to Europe. Introduced to Italy starting in the 1940s, grey squirrels are larger and more adaptable, competing for food resources and transmitting a virus that is deadly to the native red squirrels, leading to a sharp decline in their population.
Despite numerous proposals put forward to address the issue, it continues to generate widespread online debate. A total of 1,117 comments were collected from Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, Reddit, and YouTube. These comments were then categorized based on the themes addressed and the statements expressed by users.
In the dataset, 360 comments mentioned subjects other than squirrels. The analysis focused on these specific comments to highlight how the introduction of an invasive species impacts and involves an ecosystem of actors. A total of 128 subjects were identified, transformed into images using AI, and organized into a grid to create a video illustrating how users' diverse perspectives shape the discussion in unexpected and varied ways.