Learn Italian: Un tale individuo ha suscitato molto scalpore. - A certain individual provoked a lot of uproar.

Adding tale acts as an indefinite adjective meaning a certain or a particular. It emphasizes that the person is completely unspecified or unknown to the speaker, which carries a slightly more distant or mysterious nuance than simply saying un individuo (an individual).

Could un tale individuo also mean such an individual?

Yes, tale can also translate to such or such a. The exact meaning depends entirely on context. If you had just described someone's shocking behavior, it would mean such an individual. When introducing a new subject out of the blue like this, a certain individual is the most natural reading.

The verb suscitare is used here. What other words does it commonly pair with?

Suscitare means to arouse, create, or provoke. It is highly common at the B2 level for discussing intangible reactions or emotions. You will frequently see it in phrases like suscitare interesse (to arouse interest), suscitare polemiche (to provoke controversy), and suscitare dubbi (to raise doubts).

Why is it molto scalpore instead of molti scalpori?

The noun scalpore (uproar, sensation, or fuss) is uncountable and is used almost exclusively in the singular. Because it acts as a mass noun rather than a countable object, you must use the singular adjective molto to express a lot of uproar.