Italian Prime Minister Shares Deepfake Nude Photo of Herself to Warn About AI Misuse

Giorgia Meloni, the Prime Minister of Italy, has shared an AI-generated photo of herself in a state of undress as a warning about deepfake photos.

Meloni took to social media yesterday to share the AI image, which she says was created by a political rival. “In recent days, several fake photos of me are circulating, generated with artificial intelligence and passed off as real by some zealous opponent,” Meloni writes.

The Italian Premier adds that, “whoever created them, at least in the attached case, has also improved me quite a bit. But the fact remains that, just to attack and invent falsehoods, nowadays anything at all is used.”

Since rising to the southern European country’s highest office, the first woman to do so, Meloni has targeted deepfakes: passing a groundbreaking AI law last year that sets penalties and safeguards to curb the technology’s misuses. The legislation is aligned with the EU’s broader AI Act.

Meloni also brought a civil case against two men she accused of making a deepfake pornographic video of her. And last year, a website was shut down after it published deepfake pornographic images of prominent Italian women, including Meloni. Prosecutors in Rome have opened an investigation.

“The point, however, goes beyond me,” Meloni writes. “Deepfakes are a dangerous tool because they can deceive, manipulate, and strike anyone. I can defend myself. Many others cannot.”

Meloni stresses that internet users should verify before believing, and believe before sharing. “Because today it happens to me, tomorrow it can happen to anyone,” she adds.

Deepfakes disproportionately affect women: pop star Taylor Swift recently filed a trademark application to protect her image from AI deepfakes. In 2024, explicit AI images of Swift went viral on X (formerly Twitter), prompting the platform to block searches for the singer.

Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.