Meloni says she can defend herself “but many others cannot”.
Italian premier Giorgia Meloni has taken to social media to raise the alarm about the growing threat of artificial intelligence-generated deepfakes, sharing a fabricated image in which her face had been superimposed onto a woman’s body clad in underwear.
Meloni published the post alongside a screenshot of a social media user named Roberto, who had commented on the image calling it “shameful” that a prime minister should present herself in such a state – apparently unaware the image was entirely fabricated.
In her message, Meloni warned that deepfakes are a dangerous tool capable of deceiving, manipulating and targeting anyone. “I can defend myself,” she wrote. “Many others cannot.” She urged a simple rule: “verify before believing, and believe before sharing”.
Girano in questi giorni diverse mie foto false, generate con l’intelligenza artificiale e spacciate per vere da qualche solerte oppositore.
Devo riconoscere che chi le ha realizzate, almeno nel caso in allegato, mi ha anche migliorata parecchio. Ma resta il fatto che, pur di… pic.twitter.com/or44qru2qj
— Giorgia Meloni (@GiorgiaMeloni) May 5, 2026
Meloni added a wry aside about the image itself, joking that whoever had created it had “improved her quite a bit,” before turning serious: the willingness of opponents to resort to outright fabrication to attack her was, she said, a sign of how far political discourse had deteriorated.
Fake photos
This is not the first time the premier has found herself the target of such manipulations. In 2024, two men from Sardinia – a father and son – were prosecuted for spreading pornographic deepfake videos featuring her likeness.
More recently, a fabricated video circulated online in which Meloni appeared to snub Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Last month Meloni was also the centre of a fake news story regarding an old photo of her from 20 years ago, alongside a man attributed as her estranged father, whom the prime minister had not seen since she was 11. The image actually portrayed Marco Squarta, a member of Meloni’s right-wing Fratelli d’Italia party, who pledged to take legal action. Meloni reacted on social media, saying: “We’re not even in the mud anymore. We’re at the cabaret.”
Political reaction
The latest episode prompted expressions of solidarity from across the political spectrum, though not without controversy.
Senator Alessandra Maiorino of the opposition Movimento 5 Stelle (M5S) expressed support while calling for mandatory digital identity rules, arguing that “the web cannot remain the unregulated jungle it is now”, otherwise “the most vulnerable always suffer first: minors and women.”
Simonetta Matone of the Lega and Mariastella Gelmini of Noi Moderati – whose parties are members of Meloni’s coalition – also voiced their support.
However, opposition deputy Anna Ascani of the centre-left Partito Democratico (PD) was sharply critical of the government’s response to the broader problem. Ascani noted that while Meloni’s government had introduced a criminal offence for the illicit distribution of AI-generated content in September 2025, it had rejected a PD bill that would have required platforms to remove such distorted content rapidly, despite being “an issue that concerns everyone and is in everyone’s interest.
Italy’s AI laws
Last September Italy passed a sweeping new law to regulate artificial intelligence, requiring human oversight and traceability of AI decisions.
The move, which saw Italy become the first European Union member state to bring in comprehensive legislation in line with the EU’s Artificial Intelligence Act, includes tough new penalties for spreading AI-generated deepfakes, a crime punishable by up to five years in prison if it causes harm.
