Italian journalist to pay PM Giorgia Meloni $5,500 for mocking her height
Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni Photograph:( Reuters )
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The journalist, identified as Giulia Cortes, initially shared a doctored photo of Meloni with a portrait of late fascist leader Benito Mussolini in the background
The journalist, identified as Giulia Cortes, initially shared a doctored photo of Meloni with a portrait of late fascist leader Benito Mussolini in the background
An Italian court has ordered a journalist to pay $5,466 (5,000 euros) in damages to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni for mocking her on social media, according to local media reports. The journalist will also have to cough up $1,311 for a post in October 2021 making fun of the Italian PM's height.
The journalist, identified as Giulia Cortes, initially shared a doctored photo of Meloni with a portrait of late fascist leader Benito Mussolini in the background.
Meloni, whose far-right Brothers of Italy party was in the opposition at the time, took exception to the pictures posted by Cortes. 36-year-old Cortes removed the picture after receiving a request but got into trouble when she insulted Meloni on X (formerly Twitter) by calling her a 'little woman'.
"You don't scare me, Giorgia Meloni. After all, you're only 1.2 metres tall. I can't even see you," wrote Cortes at the time.
Meloni stands anywhere between 1.58 metres and 1.63 metres, as per different media reports.
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Cortese's defence team argued that the contested messages were not offensive or defamatory in nature and hoped to reduce the financial penalty. However, the single bench of Valerio Natale established the journalist's responsibility for her actions on social media, leading to the conviction.
Cortese can appeal against the sentence, and Meloni's lawyer said the Prime Minister would donate to charity any damages she eventually receives.
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This is not the first instance that an individual has been forced to pay a fine for crossing Meloni. Last year, a court in Rome fined best-selling author Roberto Saviano $1,093 plus legal expenses after he insulted her on television in 2021 over her hardline stance on illegal immigration.
A new report by Reporters Without Borders had relegated Italy five places to 46th in its World Press Freedom Index report, In May, journalists at state broadcaster RAI went on strike to protest against the "suffocating control" over their work by Meloni's government.
(With inputs from agencies)
