Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has reshared a sexualised deepfake image of herself in a bid to expose just how dangerous AI-generated image abuse can be.
The deepfake image shows Meloni sitting on a bed in lingerie and had already been circulating online before Meloni reposted it. The fake image had received many comments from people who believed it to be real. She said it was a “dangerous” trend that people needed to be aware of.
It is one of several deepfake images that have been circulating of Meloni online recently. Meloni said she had the ability to defend herself against the AI image-based abuse, but many other victims do not have her power or platform.
“I must admit that whoever created them … even improved my appearance quite a bit,” Meloni joked as she re-shared the image on X.
“But the fact remains that, in order to attack and spread falsehoods, people are now willing to use absolutely anything.”
Meloni urged people to verify what they see online before believing it or sharing it.
“Deepfakes are a dangerous tool, because they can deceive, manipulate, and strike anyone. I can defend myself. Many others cannot,” she said.
“For this reason, one rule should always apply: verify before believing, and believe before sharing. Because today it happens to me, tomorrow it can happen to anyone.”
Girano in questi giorni diverse mie foto false, generate con l’intelligenza artificiale e spacciate per vere da qualche solerte oppositore.
— Giorgia Meloni (@GiorgiaMeloni) May 5, 2026
Devo riconoscere che chi le ha realizzate, almeno nel caso in allegato, mi ha anche migliorata parecchio. Ma resta il fatto che, pur di… pic.twitter.com/or44qru2qj
Meloni, Italy’s first female prime minister, has been a target of deepfakes before. In 2024, Meloni launched a lawsuit against a man from Sardinia who was accused of making deepfake pornographic images using her face and posting them online.
Her experience speaks to the rise of AI-generated image abuse facing women in politics across the world.
Recent research shows the rise of deepfakes is not gender-neutral. Women in politics are being disproportionately targeted, often with sexualised or explicit AI-generated content designed to humiliate and discredit. One analysis found that nearly all documented cases involving politicians targeted women.
Here in Australia, a man was fined $343,500 for posting deepfake images of several high-profile Australian women last year. The civil action was launched by the eSafety Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, and was the first local case of its kind.