Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni says she is 'disgusted' after porn site posted doctored images of her and sister

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said she was “disgusted” after a pornography website published doctored images of her and other prominent women, including photos altered to portray her sister, Arianna Meloni, in sexually explicit contexts.

The platform, known as Phica, hosted galleries of manipulated images that quickly drew large numbers of views before the site’s managers disabled access and said they were shutting the service down. The doctored material, which Italian officials and Meloni described as fake, prompted an immediate backlash from politicians and users on social media and left the prime minister saying she felt violated by the invasion.

"Getty Images"

Italian officials said the manipulated pictures featured Meloni and her sister Arianna, who is also active in politics as a member of the Brothers of Italy party. The images were presented with sexist and offensive captions and were among a wider set of galleries on the site that targeted several well-known women. According to statements from people familiar with the matter, the images circulated widely on Phica and were viewed by scores of users before moderators moved to take the site offline.

Meloni, who leads a government that has emphasized family-focused policies and who has frequently discussed issues affecting women in public life, publicly expressed disgust and offered solidarity to others affected by the circulation of the images. The prime minister’s remarks framed the episode as a personal violation as well as part of a broader problem of online harassment.

The managers of Phica said the platform’s hundreds of thousands of users had violated the site’s rules and that the service would temporarily cease operations. A statement from the site’s operators blamed the user base for the spread of the doctored images, saying they were overwhelmed by the volume and nature of content being posted. The site’s removal occurred within days of the images gaining attention, according to accounts of the timeline.

"Screenshot from Phica galleries"

The episode highlights a continuing challenge for public figures and private citizens alike: manipulated images and expressly pornographic content that employ fake or altered photographs to harass, humiliate or defame. Digital images that are edited or generated to place real people in false sexual contexts have drawn growing attention from lawmakers, advocacy groups and technology companies in recent years, who say the practice can cause reputational harm and emotional distress.

Arianna Meloni, who has been active in right-leaning political circles, was among those whose images were altered on the platform. The use of images of family members of public figures elevates sensitivities, legal experts say, because it can extend the reach of harassment beyond elected officials to relatives who may not have chosen public lives.

Italian media and social networks reacted quickly to the story, publishing accounts of the doctored galleries and reporting statements from the prime minister’s office. The swift removal of the site followed public condemnation and a flood of user reports, but authorities and digital rights advocates said the episode may prompt further scrutiny of online platforms' responsibilities to prevent and remove manipulated content.

"Shutterstock editorial photo"

Legal remedies against manipulated imagery vary across jurisdictions. Some countries have specific measures targeting non-consensual pornography or ‘‘deepfake’’ images, while others rely on defamation, privacy or copyright laws to seek removal and redress. In Italy, as in other democracies, incidents that draw public officials into such controversies tend to accelerate debates over whether current laws adequately protect victims or deter platforms and users from sharing inflammatory content.

Meloni’s office did not immediately announce any specific legal action relating to the incident, and it remained unclear whether prosecutors or police would open formal inquiries. The prime minister’s public reaction, however, was unequivocal in tone: she described her feelings about the images and expressed solidarity with others subjected to similar treatment.

Observers noted that the episode comes at a moment of heightened sensitivity around online harassment of women in politics, both in Italy and internationally. Advocates for digital safety have repeatedly urged platforms to adopt faster removal practices and stronger verification steps to limit the spread of manipulated material, particularly when it targets vulnerable or high-profile individuals.

The Phica shutdown underscored how online communities can be used to amplify harmful content rapidly and how platform operators may respond when confronted with public outrage. The company’s managers pointed to user violations as the immediate cause of the problem and moved to disable the site within days, but they did not lay out a long-term plan for preventing future occurrences or for cooperating with authorities.

The incident has sparked renewed calls among some politicians and civil society groups for clearer rules and enforcement mechanisms on digital platforms. Whether those conversations will produce new legislation or industry codes of conduct in Italy remains to be seen.

Investigations by news organizations into the provenance of the images and the mechanics used to create and distribute them were ongoing. For now, the episode has drawn attention to the vulnerabilities faced by public figures and private citizens when manipulated images appear online, and to questions about the responsibilities of platform operators to police user content and protect potential victims of digital abuse.