News Desk

An Italian journalist has been ordered by a court to pay Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni €5,000 in damages and faces a suspended fine of €1,200 for derogatory social media posts about Meloni’s height.

The judge deemed two tweets by Giulia Cortese defamatory and constituting “body shaming.” This arose from an incident where Cortese labeled Meloni a “little woman” and remarked, “I can’t even see you.” Cortese criticized the verdict, alleging it reflects a severe issue with freedom of expression and dissent in Italy.

Their conflict began with Cortese posting a doctored image of Meloni in front of a bookshelf with a photo of Benito Mussolini, prompting Meloni to take legal action. Cortese was acquitted for the initial image but convicted for subsequent tweets.