Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's face was superimposed on a porn actress' body. Photo / AP
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's face was superimposed on a porn actress' body. Photo / AP
Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni has been asked to testify against a father and son accused of making fake pornographic images using her face and posting them online, Italian news agency ANSA reported.
Meloni, who is listed as an injured party in the Sassari, Sardinia trial, is seeking 100,000 euros(NZ$180,000) in damages. She will donate any award to an interior ministry fund for female victims of domestic violence, ANSA quoted her attorney Maria Giulia Marongiu as saying.
According to ANSA, Italy’s postal police in 2020 identified a father and son who allegedly uploaded deep fake porn images to a United States-based website by tracing data to one of their cell phones. At the time Meloni was not premier, but head of her Brothers of Italy party.
The Telegraph UK reports the 40-year-old man and his 73-year-old father are being tried for defamation after superimposing Meloni’s face onto the bodies of porn stars.
Marongiu has said any award would be “symbolic.” She said she hoped Meloni’s decision to pursue the case would send a message to women who are victims of such abuses of power, to not be afraid to file complaints, ANSA said.
Italy's Premier Giorgia Meloni speaks during a press conference. Photo / AP
Fake pornographic images of Emma Watson and Taylor Swift have gone viral in recent years, often being seen by millions of people before they are taken down.
Meloni’s Instagram page was hacked on Sunday by a fraudster trying to make it appear she was supporting a fake Elon Musk Bitcoin giveaway.
