Italian Journalist Convicted for Defaming Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni

Italian Journalist Found Guilty of Defaming Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni

A Milan court has ruled against Italian journalist Giulia Cortese, finding her guilty of defaming the country’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. As a result, Cortese has been ordered to pay 5,000 euros (approximately $5,500) in damages, in addition to covering the court costs, according to statements made by the journalist’s lawyer.

In a ruling handed down on Wednesday, the court imposed a suspended fine of 1,200 euros (around $1,300) on Cortese for two specific posts she made on the social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) back in October 2021, at a time when Meloni was serving as a lawmaker. In one of her tweets, Cortese used derogatory language to describe Meloni, while in another, she made a derogatory comment about the Prime Minister’s height, jokingly suggesting that Meloni was only 1.2 meters tall, or about 4 feet.

The prosecution characterized Cortese’s remarks as an instance of body shaming. For context, Meloni herself disclosed during a campaign rally in 2022 that she stands at 1.58 meters (approximately 5 feet 2 inches).

Reflecting on the ordeal, Cortese expressed her frustration on Thursday, stating that the last three years have been “quite stressful.” She revealed that her social media accounts faced harassment from Meloni’s supporters, who inundated her with insults and threats. Cortese described the experience as “very unpleasant,” adding, “Above all, it seems absurd to clog up Italian courts, which have to deal with far more serious things, with such nonsense.”

Her lawyer, David Olivetti, noted that he would thoroughly review the court’s ruling before deciding on the possibility of an appeal. Under Italian law, defamation is defined as “damage to the reputation of a person through communication with several persons,” and the legal framework does not differentiate between public figures and ordinary citizens.