Journalist Fined for Mocking Italian PM Giorgia Meloni on Social Media

A Milan court has fined journalist Giulia Cortese €5,000 for ridiculing Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in a social media post. The court also imposed a suspended fine of €1,200 for bodyshaming. This legal action follows multiple clashes between the two on social media since October 2021.

A Milan court has ordered a journalist to pay Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni damages of 5,000 euros ($5,465) for a social media post that ridiculed her, according to reports from ANSA and other local media. Journalist Giulia Cortese received an additional suspended fine of 1,200 euros for bodyshaming Meloni in a tweet, now referred to as X, back in October 2021.

This legal action was initiated by Meloni after the two had several online confrontations. At that time, Meloni's far-right Brothers of Italy party was in opposition. Cortese posted a mocked-up image of Meloni with a picture of the late fascist leader Benito Mussolini in the backdrop, which drew Meloni's ire.

In subsequent tweets, Cortese continued her attacks, saying, 'you don't scare me, Giorgia Meloni. After all, you're only 1.2 metres (4 feet) tall. I can't even see you.' Various media sources list Meloni's actual height as between 1.58 m and 1.63 m.

Cortese has the option to appeal against the sentence, and Meloni's lawyer stated that any damages awarded would be donated to charity. The issue of lawsuits against journalists has been noted by Reporters Without Borders, which downgraded Italy five spots to 46th in its 2024 World Press Freedom Index.

This isn't Meloni's first legal battle with the media. Last year, a Rome court fined author Roberto Saviano 1,000 euros plus legal fees after he insulted her on television in 2021 over her strict policies on illegal immigration. Journalists at RAI, Italy's state broadcaster, went on strike in May to protest what they described as 'suffocating control' exerted by Meloni's government.

($1 = 0.9148 euros) (Writing by Keith Weir and Gavin Jones Editing by Tomasz Janowski)

(With inputs from agencies.)