Meloni deepfake showing underwear fuels backlash and AI concerns

Published on 06/05/2026 - 10:38 GMT+2

Giorgia Meloni raises the alarm against deepfakes, showing an illustration of a fake photo, generated with artificial intelligence, in which her look has been applied to the assemblage of a pistillate successful underwear.

The image, which has been circulating online these days, is being 'passed disconnected arsenic existent by immoderate diligent opponent', explains the Prime Minister, republishing the station of a idiosyncratic who called it 'shameful' that a Prime Minister should contiguous herself successful specified conditions.

The risks of integer manipulation successful politics

In her post, the premier warns that ' deepfakes are a unsafe tool, due to the fact that they tin deceive, manipulate and impact anyone'.

Already 5 years ago, the look of the person of Fratelli d'Italia was utilized for a fake enactment video published connected a pornographic site, a lawsuit that led to a proceedings successful Sassari.

On the fake representation of her, Meloni chose irony ("whoever made it has improved maine a lot"), portion reiterating the seriousness of the phenomenon:"In bid to onslaught and invent falsehoods, by present truly thing is used".

But she expressed interest for citizens who mightiness not person the means to support themselves, advising a rule: 'Check earlier you believe, and judge earlier you share'.

This is not the archetypal clip that the artificial quality exigency has impacted Italian politics. In summation to erstwhile idiosyncratic attacks connected the premier, determination person been assorted fake campaigns connected societal media, specified arsenic the 1 during the referendum connected justice, characterised by hundreds of fake profiles and coordinated slogans.

The premier received the solidarity of respective parliamentarians. "We indispensable beryllium acceptable to antagonistic the pitfalls of the web, protecting women who are victims of it, particularly astatine a delicate clip erstwhile online manipulation is unluckily connected the increase," said Lega Nord lawman Simonetta Matone.

For the 5Stelle Movement legislator Alessandra Maiorino, the integer individuality work is "an contented that tin nary longer beryllium postponed, the web cannot proceed to stay the jungle without rules that it is now".

According to Chamber of Deputies vice-president Anna Ascani (Democratic Party), Meloni 'forgets that her authorities has besides acted present with the accustomed scheme: introducing a crime. Nothing much useless', due to the fact that 'there is simply a deficiency of a regularisation that allows the authorities successful complaint to inquire platforms to region contented immediately'.

The notation is to law 132/2025 (source successful Italian), which amended the Criminal Code to punish the non-consensual dissemination of contented generated oregon altered with AI 'causing unjust damage' with imprisonment from 1 to 5 years. Other initiatives to implicit the authorities are presently being studied by the Italian Parliament.