Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is taking bold action against the misuse of artificial intelligence through deepfake technology. She is seeking €100,000 in damages from the accused for a fake pornographic video that was viewed millions of times on a US pornographic website.
These disturbing videos involved the manipulation of her image onto another person’s body in explicit contexts. The perpetrators, a 40-year-old man and his 73-year-old father, are currently under investigation and face charges of defamation, as reported by BBC.
The suspects were identified by tracing the smartphone used to upload the videos. According to the report, the deepfake videos in question were created in 2022, a period predating Giorgia Meloni’s tenure as Italy’s Prime Minister. During that time, she had not yet assumed the role of premier.
PM Giorgia Meloni is scheduled to testify before a court in July regarding the deepfake videos that caused significant distress. The indictment alleges that these manipulated videos were uploaded to a US-based pornographic website and viewed by millions of people over several months.
Italian Prime Minister Seeks Damages Over Deepfake Videos
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is seeking €100,000 in damages after being targeted by deepfake videos depicting her in pornographic content. Legal action has been initiated against two men, a father and son duo,… pic.twitter.com/P0j8Amvjsl
— Dalimss News (@Dalimss_News) March 21, 2024
Despite the widespread dissemination of this harmful content, Giorgia Meloni’s legal team has clarified that her request for damages is symbolic. If successful, she intends to donate the entire €100,000 to support women who have suffered from male violence.
According to her lawyer, Maria Giulia Marongiu, the request for compensation serves as a powerful message to women who have experienced this form of abuse of power. It encourages them not to hesitate in pursuing legal action against such harmful acts.
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