Italian PM demands €100,000 for deepfake sXxual content

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is pursuing €100,000 ($108,650) in compensation from two individuals who are accused of digitally inserting her into explicit videos that garnered millions of views online. A court in Sardinia has summoned Meloni to testify against the accused in July. The defendants are facing criminal charges for defamation, in addition to Meloni’s civil lawsuit.

According to Meloni’s legal team, the two men, aged 42 and 73, overlaid the prime minister’s face onto a pornographic actress’ body and uploaded several explicit videos to an American adult website. These videos remained online for several months and were viewed by millions of users worldwide, as reported by ANSA.

It is important to note that the videos were created prior to Meloni assuming office as prime minister in 2022, and the alleged perpetrators were apprehended in 2020 after law enforcement identified and traced the mobile devices used to upload the content.

The older suspect has requested a sentence of community service to resolve the criminal aspect of the case, which will be decided upon by a judge next week, according to ANSA.

Meloni’s lawyer, Maria Giulia Marongiu, informed the BBC that the requested sum of €100,000 is symbolic and will be donated by Meloni to charitable organizations that support victims of domestic abuse. Marongiu stated that Meloni filed the lawsuit to encourage women who have experienced this form of abuse of power to come forward and press charges.

The term ‘deepfake’ refers to highly realistic photos or videos that have been digitally manipulated or created using artificial intelligence to depict individuals, often celebrities or public figures, engaging in actions or making statements they never actually did. US intelligence agencies have cautioned that deepfake technology could be exploited to influence elections or facilitate cybercriminals in obtaining sensitive information. Meanwhile, the Indian government has warned tech companies of legal consequences following a series of deepfake videos.