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The body of a woman was found on Sunday in the Lambro river in the northern Italian municipality of Sant’Angelo Lodigiano near Milan. This news is making headlines across the country: as the news agency Ansa reports, the dead woman was Giovanna Pedretti, owner of the restaurant “Le Vignole”, which is located not far from the river.

The 59-year-old restaurateur has been praised in recent days for her response to a discriminatory statement before she herself came under criticism. That happened.

A Google review is causing a stir

On Thursday afternoon, “Pizzeria Le Vignole” posted a message on Facebook. The message shows a Google review the restaurant had previously received, as well as their response to it.

In the assessment, “Le Vignole” received only one out of five possible stars. And this despite the fact that the anonymous visitor writes about an “excellent” pizza and an “excellent” dessert. The reason for its poor rating is not the food, but the pizzeria’s clientele. This is what it says:

“Le Vignole” did not let this criticism rest. The restaurant’s response can also be seen on the Facebook post, signed by owner Giovanna Pedretti. She thanks you for the feedback, but says:

“Le Vignole” goes viral

The message and especially Pedretti’s answer caused a lot of commotion on Facebook. The post has been commented on almost 1,500 times and shared almost 800 times. The basic gist: the restaurant is known for dealing with discriminatory criticism. “Brava,” Pedretti is praised by countless users, “great answer,” others write.

Due to the many reactions on social media, the story spread throughout the country. Italian media also became aware of this and contacted the restaurateur. “I decided to share this review to make this sad fact public,” she explained to Corriere della Sera. “I am convinced that it is necessary to show more humanity in this world.”

In the evening the story even reached national politics. Alessandra Locatelli, Italy’s Minister for Disabled People, publicly praises Pedretti and her husband for their efforts:

Doubts arise

But Pedretti’s status as a heroine doesn’t last long. On Saturday, Lorenzo Biagiarelli, a well-known Italian blogger and chef, spoke about the incident. “The news of the day would actually not be news at all,” he writes on Instagram. His thoughts on the problematic review:

Biagiarelli makes several points to support his position. He notes that the font of both the review and the answer is different than other Google reviews. He also thinks that the writing style of the review and the answer are strikingly similar: in both cases, after a period at the end of a sentence, further writing is done in lower case letters instead of in capital letters. And what Biagiarelli also notices: the review would have appeared almost identically at another restaurant.

“If this message is really fake, it would result in some inconvenient facts,” Biagiarelli wrote. “On the one hand, discrimination would have been used for marketing purposes, but on the other hand, it would show that there was no media control.” Biagiarelli’s opinion is also shared by his friend Selvaggia Lucarelli, who works as a journalist.

Biagiarelli’s post also caused a stir in the Italian press. And Pedretti’s status as a heroine continues to crumble. What doesn’t make the situation any better for you is that the alleged review can no longer be found on Google.

Pedretti is confronted with the media again. She explains that the review has been removed from Google. She took a screenshot of it and then deleted it again to have more storage space. But she has no answers to Biagiarelli’s allegations. “I don’t know,” she told a journalist from the Tagesschau “TG3” when he confronted her with the accusations. “I don’t have an answer.” And further:

On Saturday afternoon, Pedretti was also personally approached by her critic Biagiarelli. The chef reports that he spoke to the 59-year-old on the phone. “I asked her if the screenshot was real,” he says, “she said it was real, but that she had enlarged (i.e. edited) her answer.” He further pointed out that the font did not match other Google reviews, saying she went to the police to protect herself in the case and to present her own version of the case.

The tide on social media has now completely turned. Pedretti is facing harsh criticism. “A poor idiot who hoped the others were idiots too,” one user wrote. Another speculated: “That was opportunism: your site got very bad feedback because they don’t allow dogs. Now they have found a way to exploit people’s compassion to their advantage.” It is doubtful whether this is true. According to reports in the Italian media, the ‘Vignole’ was well stocked and the reviews on Google and Facebook are excellent.

Death and its consequences

On Sunday, Pedretti finally disappears. Her husband sounds the alarm, but it is too late. A few hours later, the 59-year-old’s suspected body was found in the river not far from her car. The exact cause of death is still unclear and will be determined by autopsy. Media reports of a suspected suicide. It is also known that there is a history of depression in Pedretti’s family. According to the LaPresse agency, her brother committed suicide about ten years ago.

Pedretti’s death sparks a new controversy in Italy. The right-wing parties Fratelli d’Italia and Lega commented on the case several times, criticizing Biagiarelli, Lucarelli and the media – especially the Italian daily show “TG3”. “The way the case was handled had disturbing consequences given the lady’s probable suicide,” said Fratelli politician Francesco Filini. A public broadcaster should not pillory people: ‘Such things must stop because human lives are at stake.’

The “TG3” team is defending itself against these accusations. “After the doubts that arose, TG3 deemed it necessary to re-interview the person concerned and, as we always do, gave her the opportunity to provide explanations,” it said in a statement. The tone always remained friendly. “We are deeply affected by this tragedy.” Regarding the allegations from politicians, ‘TG3’ writes that they can now ‘resolutely reject’ them.

The blogger Biagiarelli and the journalist Lucarelli are now being insulted on social media. “You have Giovanna on your conscience,” writes one user. Another accuses the couple of forcing the restaurateur to commit suicide. Later the tone becomes more intense. Lucarelli posts screenshots of death threats she has received on Instagram. “I’ll stab you when you least expect it,” reads one. And further:

And Pedretti’s 28-year-old daughter also shoots at Lucarelli: “Thank you very much, dear ‘lady’, for slaughtering my mother through the media. Feel free to look for your next victim.”

The couple does not want to hear about these accusations. “I’m very sorry,” Biagiarelli said. But: “If anyone who tries to tell the truth in a story has to expect such consequences, we can immediately close all media.”

While police are still investigating Pedretti’s actual cause of death, the case could have had immediate political ramifications. The main topic on Wednesday is the extent of social media. Senate member Carlo Calenda announced a measure to prevent people from being anonymous on social media.