Giorgia Meloni deepfake video case: Italy PM seeks compensation over adult videos

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has sought compensation of 100,000 euros after some deepfake videos of her were uploaded online, a report by the BBC stated.

Meloni is scheduled to provide testimony in a court in Sassari on July 2.

A 40-year-old person, believed to be responsible for producing the videos, along with his 73-year-old father, are currently under investigation, according to the BBC report. They allegedly swapped Meloni’s face with an adult film actor in the purported video.

Both the men now face charges of defamation.

Authorities managed to locate the suspects by tracing the mobile device used to upload the alleged adult videos, the report added.

Details shared by Meloni’s counsel claim that the said videos were uploaded to an adult content website in the US, where they garnered “millions of views” over several months. Notably, the deepfake videos were uploaded before her appointment as Prime Minister in 2022, the BBC report stated.

Maria Giulia Marongiu, the lawyer representing Meloni, described the compensation demanded by the Prime Minister as’ symbolic’ and said that if granted, she would donate the sum to a fund to support women who have been victims of male violence.

“The compensation was meant to send a message to women who are victims of this kind of abuse of power not to be afraid to press charges,” the report quoted Marongiu as saying.

In accordance with Italian law, certain defamation cases can result in criminal charges and even potential imprisonment.

Deepfake videos are synthetic media in which a person in an existing image or video is replaced with someone else’s likeness.

Even in India, several deepfake videos of Bollywood actors, including Rashmika Mandanna, Katrina Kaif, Nora Fatehi and others were uploaded on social media.

In November 2023, a deepfake video of Rashmika Mandanna went viral on social media. The video featured the face of British-Indian influencer Zara Patel, wearing a black top, which was edited and replaced with that of the Bollywood actor. In January, Delhi Police arrested a B-Tech graduate from Andhra Pradesh who created the video.