Rome: A Milan court has ordered journalist Giulia Cortese to pay Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni €5,000 ($5,465) in damages for mocking her height in a social media post, according to reports from ANSA and other local media.
In addition to the damages, Cortese received a suspended fine of €1,200 for her October 2021 Twitter post, which was deemed as “body-shaming.” The post included a mocked-up photo of Meloni with an image of the late fascist leader Benito Mussolini in the background. Cortese further tweeted, “you don’t scare me, Giorgia Meloni. After all, you’re only 1.2 meters (4 feet) tall. I can’t even see you.”
Meloni, who was leading the far-right Brothers of Italy party in opposition at the time, pursued legal action against Cortese following their social media clash. Media sources list Meloni’s height between 1.58 meters and 1.63 meters.
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Cortese retains the right to appeal the sentence. Meloni’s lawyer indicated that any damages received would be donated to charity.
This case is part of a broader trend noted by Reporters Without Borders, which cited a high number of lawsuits against journalists in Italy. This issue contributed to Italy’s drop by five places to 46th in the 2024 World Press Freedom Index.
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Meloni has a history of legal actions against journalists. Last year, a Rome court fined best-selling author Roberto Saviano €1,000 plus legal expenses after he insulted Meloni on television in 2021 over her stringent stance on illegal immigration.
In May, journalists at Italian state broadcaster RAI went on strike, protesting against what they described as the “suffocating control” exerted over their work by Meloni’s government.
