Italian PM Giorgia Meloni Seeks Damages Over Deepfake Video (image@ Giorgia Meloni)

Giorgia Meloni, the Italian Prime Minister seeks over Rs 90 lakh after a deepfake pornographic video of her was uploaded online. A 40-year-old man and his 73 year-old father are under investigation for allegedly creating the video by superimposing the Prime Minister’s face to another body, said BBC. The pair had been charged with defamation. As per some Italian laws, defamation cases can be criminal cases and result in prison sentence.

Police was able to locate the father and son after tracking the mobile which was used to post the videos. Reportedly, the deepfake video was posted in 2022, before she was pronounced as the Prime Minister of Italy. The video was posted on US pornographic website. Meloni will appear in court in July and her testimony will stress the severity of the matter.

Meloni’s lawyer, Maria Giulia Marongiu, termed the 100,000 euros (Rs 90 lakh) as “symbolic”. She said the demand of compensation was meant to “send a message to women who are victims of this kind of abuse of power not to be afraid to press charges”.

Meloni’s legal team said the Prime Minister will donate the 100,000 euros to a fund to support women who have been victims of male violence.

The disturbing trend of deep fake videos featuring public figures has started to spread rapidly. Several Indian actresses including Rashmika Mandanna, Alia Bhatt, and Katrina Kaif. The latest deepfake video came of Indian cricketer, Virat Kohli promoting a betting app. Fabricated video of cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar also circulated through social media. The veteran cricketer was shown as discussing his daughter’s interest in ‘money-making’ game. Sexually explicit deepfake images of singer Taylor Swift circulated rapidly across social media platforms, reigniting calls from US lawmakers to address the rampant misuse of such technology and protect individuals from malicious intent.