A second Italian journalist has been targeted with spyware developed by surveillance firm Paragon, according to a new report from internet watchdog Citizen Lab. The revelation deepens a growing scandal that has already severed ties between Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government and the controversial company.
The journalist is Ciro Pellegrino, an investigative reporter with Fanpage. The online newspaper has published critical coverage of the Meloni administration. Earlier this year, Fanpage editor-in-chief Francesco Cancellato was among several individuals who received alerts from WhatsApp warning they had been targeted with Paragon spyware.
Citizen Lab said on Thursday that forensic analysis of Pellegrino’s iPhone revealed traces of the same surveillance technology. “It’s horrible,” Pellegrino told Reuters. “My phone is the black box of my life, containing personal data, health records, and sources.”
The discovery raises further questions about the integrity of a recent Italian parliamentary investigation. According to the findings, there was no evidence that intelligence services had used Paragon tools against Fanpage. The panel had confirmed the spyware was deployed for law enforcement purposes against migrant rescue activists. However, it cleared authorities of wrongdoing in relation to Cancellato.
“This sheds serious doubt on the adequacy of the investigation,” said Natalia Krapiva, senior counsel at digital rights group Access Now.
Paragon stated it offered the Italian government technical support to determine whether its systems were misused. However, officials allegedly declined the offer. The government has not responded to the new Citizen Lab findings.
Democratic Party spokesman Sandro Ruotolo called for the investigation to be reopened. “We want to know why two Italian journalists were spied on,” he said.
The EU has warned Italy over its use of spyware on journalists. This comes ahead of the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) coming into force on 8 August 2025.
