Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has condemned the spread of deepfake images portraying her in lingerie. The 49-year-old politician has served as Prime Minister of Italy since 2022. She highlighted the dark side of AI and said it has become a dangerous tool for deception and personal attacks.
Meanwhile, her stance sharply contradicts that of the 47th President of the United States, Donald Trump. Meloni strictly slammed the misuse of deepfakes and AI after her viral fiasco. She said, “But the fact remains that, in order to attack and make up lies, people will now use absolutely anything.” Trump, by contrast, has viewed these glorified images with a more open-minded stance.
Recently, Donald Trump had shared an AI-generated photo of himself dressed in white biblical-style robes with a red sash. The image depicted him like Jesus Christ. This followed his recent online feud with Pope Leo XIV. The dispute took place amid the U.S.-Israel strike on Iran.
Trump defended the picture, saying he believed it showed him more as a doctor than a religious figure. Even so, it received widespread criticism. Donald Trump said, “I did post it, and I thought it was me as a doctor. It had to do with the Red Cross, as a Red Cross worker.”
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Addressing AI generated images, in a Facebook post, Meloni shared an altered image of herself. It had originally been posted by a social media user named Roberto. He accused her of wrongdoing and said Meloni should be “ashamed of herself. Meloni urged the public not to share such content. She asked people to verify its authenticity first.
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She wrote, “In these days, several fake photos of me are circulating, generated with AI and passed off as real by some zealous opponent. I must admit that whoever created them, at least in the attached case, has also improved me quite a bit. But the fact remains that, to attack and invent falsehoods, nowadays anything at all is used.”
She further stressed that deepfakes can “deceive, manipulate and target anyone.” She added that while she is in a position to defend herself, many others are not.
Meloni jokingly wrote “[it] actually made me look a lot better.” But she stressed the issue remains serious. People are willing to make up anything to attack others.
“No, I definitely don’t look like an angel,” Meloni wrote on social media with a series of different emojis and an edited version of the image.
Giorgia Meloni’s message about the downside of AI-generated images like deepfakes came at a key moment. Deepfakes are allegedly being used as political weapons. They are said to spread public distrust and sway voters during elections.
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According to The Guardian, researchers say these “deepfakes” are becoming more common, convincing, and effective as tools for propaganda and profit.
Experts note these images don’t need to be realistic to be persuasive. Instead, they “feel true” to viewers because they align with existing beliefs.
It remains unclear if Meloni plans to take legal action against the unknown person behind this. Still, several online users advised her to report the incident.
