Italian journalist fined for ridiculing PM Giorgia Meloni's height

An Italian journalist has been fined for making derogatory comments about Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's height. A Milan court has ordered a journalist Giulia Cortese to pay Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni damages of 5,000 euros ($5,465) for making fun of her in a social media post. The journalist was also given a suspended fine of 1,200 euros for a jibe on Twitter, now named X, in Oct. 2021 about Meloni's height, which was defined as "body shaming". In a response to a Reuters story on the verdict, Cortese wrote on X on Thursday: "Italy's government has a serious problem with freedom of expression and journalistic dissent."Cortese expressed outrage, calling her conviction over a "joke phrase" scandalous. “Going ahead with it risks costing me a lot, and I don’t know how it would end,” she said after reports that she could appeal.

Italy's government has a serious problem with freedom of expression and journalistic dissent. This country seems to get closer to 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!@Reuters https://t.co/sWojOlMJz1

— Giulia Cortese (@GiuliaCortese1) July 18, 2024

Meloni had launched legal action against the journalist after the two women clashed on social media three years ago.At that time, Meloni was at the helm of the opposition, commanding the support of her Brothers of Italy party. Apparently, Cortese had shared a photograph that Meloni alleged to be a forgery. The image featured her alongside a picture of Benito Mussolini, a former fascist leader, in the background.
The Italian PM took the matter to Facebook, labelling the manipulated photo as of "unique gravity," and stated that she had instructed her legal counsel to pursue a lawsuit against Cortese.In response, Giulia Cortese at the time said, “The media pillory you created on your Facebook page qualifies you for what you are: a little woman.” In yet another tweet she shared, “You don’t scare me, Giorgia Meloni. After all, you’re only 1.2 metres (4 ft) tall. I can’t even see you.”