An Italian journalist has been ordered to pay Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni €5,000 in damages over social media posts mocking her height.
A judge ruled that two tweets by Giulia Cortese were defamatory and amounted to “body shaming.” Cortese also received a suspended fine of €1,200.
The incident began when Cortese referred to Meloni as a “little woman” and claimed, “I can’t even see you.” Reacting to the verdict, Cortese criticised the Italian government for having a “serious problem with freedom of expression and journalistic dissent.”
Their clash dates back to October 2021, when Meloni’s far-right Brothers of Italy party was still in opposition. Cortese had posted a doctored image on X (formerly Twitter) showing Meloni in front of a bookshelf with a framed photo of fascist dictator Benito Mussolini added. Meloni condemned the image and announced legal action on Facebook. Cortese deleted the image upon realising it was fake but accused Meloni of creating a “media pillory” against her and reiterated that Meloni was a “little woman.”
In a subsequent post, Cortese stated: “You don’t scare me, Giorgia Meloni. After all, you’re only 1.2m [3ft 9in] tall. I can’t even see you.” Meloni’s actual height is reported to be 1.63m (5ft 3in) by Italian media.
While Cortese was cleared of posting the initial image, she was convicted over the later tweets mocking her [Meloni’s] height.
“Bad times for independent journalists”
She told British newspaper The Guardian, that being convicted over a “joke phrase” was “scandalous”.
“There’s [a] climate of persecution. I don’t feel I have the freedom any more to write about this government, because once you are identified as an inconvenient journalist for this government, they don’t let anything pass.”
She has the option to appeal but has not yet confirmed her decision. Meloni’s lawyer announced that any damages received would be donated to charity.
Responding to the verdict on X, Cortese wrote: “Italy’s government has a serious problem with freedom of expression and journalistic dissent. This country seems to get closer to [Viktor] 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!” She added that she is “Italian and proud to be” but lamented that “we deserve better than this appalling and shameful government.”
Freedom of Press
On World Press Freedom Day in May, Reporters Sans Frontieres released a report which showed Italy slip five places to 46. It particularly noted, “an example of some political groups orchestrating the acquisition of the media ecosystem is Giorgia Meloni’s Italy, where a member of her coalition is trying to buy the AGI press agency”.
Meloni is not afraid to sue journalists over public criticism. There have been accusations of the PM and her governments using defamation suits to silence journalists and intellectuals.
Meloni sued anti-mafia writer Roberto Saviano for calling her a “bastard” over her migration policies. She is also suing Palestinian journalist Rula Jebreal – who has both Israeli and Italian citizenship – over a September 2022 tweet.
At the Turin Book Fair, Salman Rushdie suggested she grow a thicker skin in reference to the Saviano case. Indeed, as it was pointed out by Dominic Bliss on X (formerly Twitter), can you imagine if Rishi Sunak had been similarly prone to running to the courts? For sure, he would have amassed an even greater fortune!
