technology
Italian Prime Minister Meloni Shares AI-Generated Photo of Herself
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of Italy re-posted an AI-generated image of herself that an opponent had shared on X. She stated that the image improved her appearance while warning that deepfakes can deceive and manipulate people. Meloni, who was elected in 2022, said she can defend herself against such material but others cannot.
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Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of Italy re-posted an AI-generated image of herself on Tuesday after an opponent shared it on X. The image showed the 49-year-old politician posing on a bed wearing a skimpy slip. An X user had described the prime minister as "shameful" in the post.
Meloni shared a screenshot of the post and confirmed the photo was fake. "Several fake photos of me are circulating, generated with artificial intelligence ... I must admit that whoever created them, at least in the attached case, has also improved me quite a bit," she wrote.
She was elected in 2022. She added a warning about the risks of such technology. "Deepfakes are a dangerous tool because they can deceive, manipulate, and strike anyone. I can defend myself. Many others cannot," she wrote.
Meloni is a conservative who ran on an "Italy first" and tough-on-immigration platform. She has aligned herself with President Trump, although their public relationship cooled somewhat after Trump’s sharp criticism of Pope Leo XIV. She has been prime minister of Italy since 2022.
The incident highlights ongoing concerns about the use of artificial intelligence to create misleading images of public figures. Such material can spread quickly on social media platforms like X.
