In a landmark ruling, a Milan court has ordered journalist Giulia Cortese to pay Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni €5,000 in damages for mocking her on social media.
Cortese was also handed a suspended fine of €1,200 for “bodyshaming” Meloni in a tweet about her height.
The court’s decision comes after a heated social media exchange between the two women in October 2021. Cortese had published a mocked-up photo of Meloni with fascist leader Benito Mussolini in the background, prompting Meloni to take legal action.
Cortese responded to the lawsuit with a tweet that read, “You don’t scare me, Giorgia Meloni. After all, you’re only 1.2 meters tall. I can’t even see you.” Meloni’s lawyer said the prime minister would donate any damages received to charity.
This is not the first time Meloni has taken legal action against a journalist. In 2023, she won a lawsuit against author Roberto Saviano, who was fined €1,000 for insulting her on television. The ruling has sparked concerns about press freedom in Italy, which fell five places to 46th in Reporters Without Borders’ 2024 World Press Freedom Index.
Journalists at Italian state broadcaster RAI went on strike in May to protest against government control over their work. The court’s decision has sparked debate about the limits of free speech and the power of public figures to silence critics. Cortese can appeal the sentence, but the ruling has already sparked concerns about the chilling effect on press freedom in Italy.
