An Italian journalist, Giulia Cortese, has been ordered to pay Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni €5,000 (£4,210) in damages over social media posts mocking Meloni’s height.
A judge ruled that two tweets by Cortese were defamatory and amounted to “body shaming.” Cortese was also handed a suspended fine of €1,200.
The conflict began in October 2021, when Meloni’s far-right Brothers of Italy party was still in opposition.
Cortese posted a mocked-up image of Meloni on X (formerly Twitter), showing her standing in front of a bookshelf with a framed photo of fascist dictator Benito Mussolini added artificially.
Meloni responded on Facebook, calling the image of “unique gravity” and announced she would take legal action. Cortese later deleted the image, acknowledging it was fake but accused Meloni of creating a “media pillory” against her. She called Meloni a “little woman” in a Facebook post.
In another tweet, Cortese wrote, “You don’t scare me, Giorgia Meloni. After all, you’re only 1.2m [3ft 9in] tall. I can’t even see you.” Meloni’s actual height is reported to be 1.63m (5ft 3in).
Cortese was cleared for posting the initial image but convicted over the later tweets. She has the option to appeal but has not yet confirmed if she will do so.
Reacting to the verdict, Meloni’s lawyer said she would donate any money received to charity.
Cortese responded on X, “Italy’s government has a serious problem with freedom of expression and journalistic dissent. This country seems to get closer to [Viktor] Orbán’s Hungary: these are bad times for independent journalists and opinion leaders. Let’s hope for better days ahead. We won’t give up!”
She added, “I am Italian and proud to be, but we deserve better than this appalling and shameful government.”
