Beppe Grillo

[[File:Beppe Grillo 1.JPG|thumb|right|165px|''*sad trombone*'']]
{{politics}}
{{cquote|Vote with your gut, not with [[Anti-intellectualism|your head!]]|||Grillo campaign slogan}}

'''Beppe Grillo''' {{lived|1948}} is an [[Italian]] comic, blogger and founder of the {{wpl|Five Star Movement}} political party. 
 
The Italian free press during the [[Silvio Berlusconi|Berlusconi]] years was the pits. A lot of RAI journalists and commentators got fired or moved around under his reign. It got to the point that people were [[Jon Stewart|looking to comedians]] to criticize him, which contributed to Grillo's rise.  M5S is a political movement headed by Grillo, a fascist comedian who is monetizing the [[Populism|populist]] momentum by posting clickbait and centralizing the internal debate on websites owned by "Casaleggio Associati", a marketing firm.<ref>Horowitz, Jason, [http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/02/world/europe/italy-fake-news.html "Spread of Fake News Provokes Anxiety in Italy"], [[NYT]] 12.2.16.</ref> (You know, Waldo, from ''Black Mirror''?)

In 2013, ''Der Spiegel'' described him as "the most dangerous man in Europe" because of his anti-democratic [[rhetoric]], citing parallels between him and [[Benito Mussolini]].<ref name=Spiegel>Jan Fleischhauer, "[http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/beppe-grillo-of-italy-is-the-most-dangerous-man-in-europe-a-889104.html Beppe Grillo Is the Most Dangerous Man in Europe]", ''Der Spiegel'', 15 Mar 2013.</ref>

==Five Star Movement==
After a long career as a comedian, he led a political activism movement (V-Day, where V stands for "''vaffanculo''" &mdash; fuck off) in 2007 to protest against widespread corruption in Italian politics, [[tax]] evasion and the presence of people convicted of crimes in the Italian parliament.<ref>Tom Mueller, "[http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2008/02/04/beppes-inferno Beppe's Inferno]", ''The New York Times'', 4th Feb 2008.</ref>

In 2009, he gave birth to his own political party, the Five Star Movement (''Movimento Cinque Stelle'' &mdash; M5S); it is mainly characterized by a strong emphasis on [[Democracy#Direct democracy|direct democracy]],<ref name="Viola2015">{{cite book|author=Donatella M. Viola|editor=Donatella M. Viola|title=Routledge Handbook of European Elections|chapter=Italy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7stgCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA113|year=2015|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-50363-7|page=113}}</ref><ref name="Charles2013">{{cite book|author=Alec Charles|title=Media/Democracy: A Comparative Study|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_cowBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA77|year=2013|publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing|isbn=978-1-4438-5008-7|page=77}}</ref><ref name="Foot2014">{{cite book|author=John Foot|title=Modern Italy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=evwcBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA226|year=2014|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|isbn=978-1-137-04192-0|pages=223–226}}</ref><ref name="HauteGauja2015">{{cite book|author1=Emilie van Haute|author2=Anika Gauja|title=Party Members and Activists|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XGChCAAAQBAJ&pg=PR18|year=2015|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-52432-8|page=18}}</ref><ref name=Spiegel /> anti-establishmentarism,<ref name="Viola2015"/><ref name="KickertRandmaLiiv2015">{{cite book|author1=Walter Kickert|author2=Tiina Randma-Liiv|title=Europe Managing the Crisis: The Politics of Fiscal Consolidation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OkLLCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA263|year=2015|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-52570-7|page=263}}</ref><ref>James Mackenzie, Raissa Kasolowsky, "[http://www.reuters.com/article/us-italy-politics-grillo-idUSKCN0JD0J520141129 'Tired' Grillo overhauls leadership of Italy's 5-Star Movement]", ''Reuters'', 29 Nov 2014.</ref><ref name="EatwellPetitMcKinley2014">{{cite book|author1=Lord John Eatwell|author2=Mr Pascal Petit|author3=Professor Terry McKinley|title=Challenges for Europe in the World, 2030|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EHWUBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA313|year=2014|publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.|isbn=978-1-4724-1925-5|page=313}}</ref><ref name=Spiegel /> [[environmentalism]], and anti-[[globalization]]/[[euroscepticism]].<ref name="Torsello2013">{{cite book|author=Professor Davide Torsello|title=The New Environmentalism?: Civil Society and Corruption in the Enlarged EU|year=2013|publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.|isbn=978-1-4094-9511-6|page=130}}</ref><ref name="Lansford2013">{{cite book|author=Tom Lansford|title=Political Handbook of the World 2013|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lUF1AwAAQBAJ&pg=PA716|year=2013|publisher=SAGE Publications|isbn=978-1-4522-5825-6|page=716}}</ref>  

===2016 Referendum===
Italy is currently facing its biggest political crisis since the birth of the Republic: a scandal-ridden right wing that wasn't able to reform itself after the downfall of Berlusconi; a left-wing struggling to find its place in history (also ridden with scandals); Lega Nord rebranding as an [[alt-right]] party; and a crazy post-factual, post-ideological populist party with no precedents in the western world. 

To appoint a government in Italy, you need to gain the majority of votes in two chambers elected with different rules, in a political spectrum that has become tripolar. The 5 Star Movement doesn't do alliances, and Grillo rules it with an iron fist, so the center-left had to form a coalition with their natural enemy, Berlusconi, the guy they depicted as Satan for 20 years. They choose a Catholic moderate (Matteo Renzi) as coalition leader, with the task of fixing the election laws before going to new elections, but of course it didn't work. Renzi wasn't chosen by popular vote (because in Italy the government is not chosen by popular vote, but, as previously stated, "you need to gain the majority of votes in two chambers elected with different rules"), the economy never got the boost it needed to restore confidence, immigration became [[Syria|a huge problem]], and he had to make several compromises due to the heterogeneous nature of his majority, ie. was forced to keep the old nepotistic oligarchy alive. Unable to change the constitution on his own, he had to go through a referendum, which Grillo campaigned against.  The "No" campaign won by 9.11%, and Renzi stepped down as Prime Minister.

Strange political ride. The third-longest government in Italy's republican history lost its momentum and had to resign. Parliament is back to square one, the banks are nearing collapse, and Italy is more or less ungovernable.

After the parliamentary elections held the 4th March 2018 (with the lowest recorded turnout in the history of the Italian Republic) in which the Five Star Movement gained slightly more than 32% of the votes (at least 40% was needed to gain more than 50% of the seats in parliament), the M5S allied with the Lega (another populist party which gained slightly more than 17% of the votes, and was inside the right-wing coalition with Berlusconi's party Forza Italia and alt-right party Fratelli d'Italia), which quitted with the right-wing electoral coalition, thus creating what is now known as the Government of Change (Governo del Cambiamento), a fancy name for a multilateral populist government.

===Relationship with the press===
Grillo maintains a tight policy on the interviews that can be given by the movement's activists, affirming that the media often distorts their statements.<ref>Alessandro Gilioli, "[http://gilioli.blogautore.espresso.repubblica.it/2008/01/09/lintervista-mai-fatta-a-beppe-grillo/?ref=rephpsp2 L'intervista mai fatta a Beppe Grillo]", ''L'Espresso'', 9th Jan 2008.</ref>

==Pseudoscience and conspiracy theories==
Grillo, his blog and his followers have been very prone to promoting various kinds of [[conspiracy theory|conspiracy theories]] and [[woo]].<ref name=Wired>Valentina Arcovio, "[http://daily.wired.it/news/scienza/2012/05/18/bufale-scientifiche-beppe-grillo-23666.html Tutte le bufale scientifiche di Beppe Grillo]", ''Wired'', 18 May 2012.</ref><ref>Doktor Debunker, "[http://www.giornalettismo.com/archives/822025/beppe-grillo-e-la-fratellanza-fra-grillini-e-complottismo/ Beppe Grillo e la fratellanza fra grillini e complottismo]", ''Giornalettismo'', 12 Mar 2013.</ref><ref>Emilio Carnevali, "[http://temi.repubblica.it/micromega-online/grillo-e-lossessione-del-complotto/ Grillo e l'ossessione del complotto]", ''MicroMega'', 27 Mar 2013.</ref>  Among their other enthusiasms, you will find:<ref>Nonleggerlo, Di Wil, [http://espresso.repubblica.it/palazzo/2014/09/26/news/l-eurodeputato-m5s-a-caccia-di-scie-chimiche-ecco-la-lunghissima-lista-dei-complotti-grillini-1.181876 "Secrets and Chemtrails: The Long List of Those Who Plotted Grillini"], ''l'espresso'' 9.26.16.</ref>

*[[Chemtrails]]
*Scheduled airings of [[ISIS]] beheading videos by the "[[Illuminati|grey eminences]]"
*[[Augusto Pinochet|Pinochet]] is better than Renzi
*We have never been on [[Moon landing hoax|the moon]]
*Terrorist attacks (in Italy during the '70s) ordained by the secret "Bilderberry" (Bilderberg) group, CIA, secret services, etc.
*[[Homosexual agenda|Gay conspiracy]]
*[[NWO]] is behind giving newborns their mother's surname
*A Saracen grain (Buckwheat) conspiracy. MS5 wanted to stop its importation because they thought that it came from the middle east, but it is actually grown in Italy. In Italian, it's called Saracen, after the civilization.
*Rigged European elections
*Italians can avoid [[Tax protestor|paying tax]] by going back to the Lira
*[[Osama bin Laden|Bin Laden]] is alive and [[9/11 truthers|9/11 was an inside job]]
*Mermaids really exist
*Renzi's PM appointment was a forgone conclusion: he participated on a TV quiz show when he was 19. How likely is it that a contestant on a TV show produced by Berlusconi will go on to become a PM?! ''Wake up sheeple!''

You have to understand that most of their MPs have no political background. They are random people picked off the street who got elected because nobody was expecting them to get this far, and many wanted to see more  absurd and surrealistic, politic based, sit-com.

===HIV denialism===
Grillo defined the link between [[AIDS|HIV and AIDS]] to be "the biggest hoax of this century".<ref name=Wired /> He also refused to answer an open letter sent to him by the Italian League for Fight against AIDS (''Lega Italiana per la Lotta contro l'Aids'' &mdash; LILA), asking him to review the latest studies on this subject.<ref>Alessandra Cerioli, "[http://www.lila.it/it/lila-dice/184-lettera-aperta-a-beppe-grillo-perch%C3%A9-l-aids-esiste.html Lettera aperta a Beppe Grillo. Perché l'Aids esiste]", LILA - Lega Italiana per la Lotta contro l'Aids, 17 May 2012.</ref>

===Anti-vax===
Grillo defined [[Vaccine|vaccinations]] to be "useless", because the prevalence of infectious diseases like {{wpl|Diphtheria|diphtheria}} and {{wpl|Poliomyelitis|poliomyelitis}} are already declining, and "a mandatory mass vaccination program is a gift for [[Big Pharma]], and [[Argumentum ex culo|it is the farthest possible thing from an appropriate approach]]."<ref>"[http://www.beppegrillo.it/movimento/parlamentoeuropeo/2015/10/vaccini-si-vaccini-n.html Vaccini si, vaccini no. Facciamo chiarezza]", ''beppegrillo.it'', 27 Oct 2015.</ref> He also stated that [[Vaccine hysteria#Autism|vaccinations can cause autism to children]];<ref>Paolo Mieli, "[http://www.corriere.it/editoriali/15_ottobre_20/cinque-stelle-malattia-pericolosa-complottisti-anti-vaccini-fb075978-76eb-11e5-be66-1fe1580f106c.shtml Cinque Stelle, la malattia pericolosa dei complottisti anti-vaccini]", ''Corriere della Sera'', 22 Oct 2015.</ref> his claims were based on [[Andrew Wakefield]]'s fraudulent research paper which falsely linked the MMR vaccine to the appearance of autism.<ref>Maria Sorbi, "[http://www.ilgiornale.it/news/politica/comico-tenta-convincere-mamme-bio-che-rischio-autismo-esista-1183988.html Grillo scatena il complottismo ma cavalca una ricerca-bufala]", ''Il Giornale'', 18 Oct 2015.</ref>

===Anti-GMO===
Grillo also talked about a supposed tomato plant [[GMO|modified]] with cod genes in order to make it resistant to cold temperatures, explaining how these tomatoes had caused 60 deaths from anaphylactic shocks. Both statements are false, the tomatoes Grillo talked about were developed in 1991 by ''DNA Plant Technology'', but they were not commercialized because they were not resistant to cold temperatures, and potentially allergenic.<ref>Dario Bressanini, "[http://bressanini-lescienze.blogautore.espresso.repubblica.it/2007/09/13/logm-che-non-e-mai-esistito/ L'OGM che non è mai esistito]", ''La Repubblica'', 13 Sept 2007.</ref>

===Cancer woo===
Grillo defined [[cancer]] screening programs as "dangerous". Additionally, he is a strong proponent of the pseudoscientific {{wpl|Luigi di Bella|Di Bella method}} for cancer treatment.<ref name=Wired />

==Internet and technology==
At the end of his ''Time out'' show, in year 2000, he destroyed a personal computer after expressing his frustration at/general incompetence with computers.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jdHN4edCqA</ref><ref>https://web.archive.org/web/*/http://archiviostorico.corriere.it/2000/marzo/02/Grillo_sul_palco_strage_computer_co_0_0003026540.shtml</ref> In the following years, he gradually changed his mind about technology, to the point that his blog is one of the most followed Italian blogs.{{fact}}

==See also==
*[[Brexit]]
*[[Jill Stein]]

==External links==
* [http://www.beppegrillo.it/ Il blog di Beppe Grillo]

==References==
{{reflist|2|90%}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grillo, Beppe}}
[[Category:9/11 truthers]]
[[Category:Alternative medicine promoters]]
[[Category:Anti-vaccination movement]]
[[Category:Cancer woo]]
[[Category:Chemophobes]]
[[Category:Comedians]]
[[Category:Conspiracy theorists]]
[[Category:Crank magnetism]]
[[Category:Denialists]]
[[Category:European politicians]]
[[Category:GMO]]
[[Category:HIV/AIDS]]
[[Category:Homophobes]]
[[Category:Internet kooks]]
[[Category:Italy]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Pseudoscience promoters]]
[[Category:Tax protesters]]

Categories: 9/11 truthers, Alternative medicine promoters, Anti-vaccination movement, Cancer woo, Chemophobes, Comedians, Conspiracy theorists, Crank magnetism, Denialists, European politicians, GMO, HIV/AIDS, Homophobes, Internet kooks, Italy, Living people, Pseudoscience promoters, Tax protesters