In yet another shocking incident of misuse of technology Italian PM Georgia Melon has been targeted by making her deepfake pornographic videos. Meloni is pursuing 100,000 euros ($1,08, 500) in damages after reports surfaced of deepfake videos depicting her engaged in explicit acts, allegedly created and disseminated online by two individuals. According to BBC reports, the perpetrators, a 40-year-old man and his 73-year-old father, are facing charges of defamation.
The report indicates that the deepfake videos, which surfaced in 2022, feature Meloni’s face superimposed onto another person’s body. Police identified the suspects by tracing the smartphone used to upload the videos. Despite the videos circulating while Meloni was not yet in office, they garnered millions of views on a US-based porn website.
Scheduled to testify in court in July, Georgia Meloni intends to address the disturbing trend of deepfake technology misuse. Her legal team described the requested damages as symbolic, with the entirety of the sum pledged towards supporting women affected by male violence, if awarded.
Notably, the investigation into this matter commenced in 2020, with defamation cases in Italy potentially resulting in imprisonment. Meloni’s legal action aims to empower victims of similar abuses to come forward without hesitation.
The proliferation of pornographic deepfake content online remains a concerning issue, with a reported 96% of such material being sexually explicit, according to The Guardian. Meloni joins a list of high-profile individuals, including Taylor Swift, Emma Watson, Scarlett Johansson, and Michelle Obama, who have fallen victim to such manipulative practices, highlighting broader concerns regarding the misuse of technology to exploit individuals.
