'Punish them': Italian PM 'disgusted' after porn site posts morphed images of her

Rome: Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has expressed outrage after doctored photos of her appeared on a pornographic website. The images, which also included manipulated pictures of her sister, Arianna Meloni, and opposition leader Elly Schlein, were uploaded to the site Phica, a platform with more than 700,000 subscribers, before being abruptly shut down on Thursday.

Phica’s managers announced the closure by blaming users for “misusing” the platform. However, the scandal has already triggered widespread condemnation.

The photos, accompanied by sexist and vulgar captions, had been lifted from women’s personal social media accounts or public sources without consent, then digitally altered to zoom in on body parts or show the women in sexual positions. Since the revelations, dozens of Italian women have come forward to file complaints against Phica and other similar sites.

“I am disgusted by what has happened,” Meloni told Corriere della Sera on Friday. “I want to extend my solidarity and support to all the women who have been offended, insulted and violated.” She called for the perpetrators to be swiftly identified and punished “with the utmost firmness.”

Meloni added: “It is disheartening to note that in 2025, there are still those who consider it normal and legitimate to trample on a woman’s dignity and target her with sexist and vulgar insults, hiding behind anonymity or a keyboard.”

The scandal comes just a week after Meta shut down an Italian Facebook account called Mia Moglie (“My Wife”), where men were exchanging intimate images of women without consent.

Phica, whose name is a misspelt version of a vulgar Italian slang word for vagina, had been operating since 2005 despite repeated reports from victims. Police have now opened an investigation following official complaints from politicians in the centre-left Democratic Party (PD).

The site reportedly featured a “VIP section” with doctored images of high-profile women, including Meloni. “Content that is considered harmless can, in the wrong hands, become a terrible weapon. And we must all be aware of this,” Meloni warned.

A University of Milan study in 2019 revealed that 20% of Italian women had been victims of non-consensual intimate image sharing — highlighting how widespread the problem remains.