Source: Giorgia Meloni: Journalist told to pay damages for mocking Italian PM’s height
An Italian journalist has been ordered to pay Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni damages of €5,000 (£4,210) over social media posts making fun of her height.
A judge ruled that two tweets by Giulia Cortese, who was also handed a suspended fine of €1,200, were defamatory and amounted to “body shaming”.
It followed an exchange in which Ms Cortese described Ms Meloni as a “little woman” and told her: “I can’t even see you.”
Reacting to the verdict, Ms Cortese said the Italian government had a “serious problem with freedom of expression and journalistic dissent”.
The pair first clashed in October 2021, when Ms Meloni’s far-right Brothers of Italy party was still in opposition, after Ms Cortese posted a mocked-up image of Ms Meloni on X, formerly Twitter.
Ms Meloni was seen in the image standing in front of a bookshelf on to which a framed photo of fascist dictator Benito Mussolini had been artificially added.
In a post on Facebook, Ms Meloni said the image was of “unique gravity” and that she would be taking legal action.
She later said in a separate post: “You don’t scare me, Giorgia Meloni. After all, you’re only 1.2m [3ft 9in] tall. I can’t even see you.”
Ms Meloni’s height is reported in Italian media to be 1.63m (5ft 3in).
Ms Cortese was cleared for posting the initial image but convicted over the later tweets.
She has the option to appeal but has not yet confirmed whether she will do so.
Ms Meloni’s lawyer said she would donate any money she received to charity.
Responding to the verdict on X, Ms 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 later added that she was “Italian and proud to be” but that “we deserve better than this appalling and shameful government”.
一名意大利记者因在社交媒体上发布取笑她身高的帖子，被责令向总理乔治亚·梅洛尼支付 5,000 欧元（4,210 英镑）赔偿金。 法官裁定朱莉娅·科尔特斯 的两条推文具有诽谤性，构成“身体羞辱”，她也被处以 1,200 欧元的缓期罚款。 此前，科特斯女士将梅洛尼女士描述为“小女人”，并告诉她：“我甚至看不到你。” 科尔特斯女士在回应判决时表示，意大利政府“在言论自由和新闻异议方面存在严重问题”。 两人首次发生冲突是在 2021 年 10 月，当时梅洛尼女士的极右翼意大利兄弟党仍是反对党，科特斯女士在 X（以前称为推特）上发布了梅洛尼女士的仿制照片。 照片中，梅洛尼女士站在一个书架前，书架上人为添加了法西斯独裁者贝尼托·墨索里尼的镶框照片。 梅洛尼女士在脸书上发帖称，这张照片具有“独特的严重性”，她将采取法律行动。 她后来在另一篇帖子中说道：“你吓不到我，乔治亚·梅洛尼。毕竟，你只有 1.2m [3 英尺 9 英寸]高。我甚至看不到你。” 据意大利媒体报道，梅洛尼女士的身高为 1.63m（5 英尺 3 英寸）。 科特斯女士发布最初的图片没有违法，但因后来的推文而被定罪。 她可以选择上诉，但尚未确认是否会这样做。 梅洛尼女士的律师表示，她将把收到的所有钱捐给慈善机构。 科特斯女士在回应对 X 的判决时写道：“意大利政府在言论自由和新闻异议方面存在严重问题。 “这个国家似乎越来越接近[维克托]欧尔班的匈牙利：对于独立记者和意见领袖来说，现在是糟糕的时期。我们希望未来情况会变好。我们不会放弃！” 她后来补充说，她是“意大利人，并为此感到自豪”，但“我们应该拥有比这届令人震惊和可耻政府更好的政府。”
