Italy’s prime minister, Georgia Meloni, expressed outrage at a pornographic site that allegedly features manipulated images of her and other high-profile women, along with sexist and offensive subtitles and comments.
The forum, known as Phica (name derived from the term colloquial “figa” for the word “vagina” in Italian), was closed by its own administrators this Thursday, after a widespread reaction. The site, which had hundreds of thousands of subscribers at the time of its closure, blamed users for failing to comply with its rules.
Subscribers from the adult forum allegedly collected images of women from social media websites or public sources before manipulating and posting them along with misogynistic descriptions.
In addition to Georgia Meloni, the site reportedly also featured images of her sister Arianna, who is a prominent politician from Italy’s Brothers party, as well as other Italian celebrities and politicians.
“I am outraged by what happened and I want to convey my solidarity and support to all the women who have been offended, insulted, and violated in their privacy by the managers of this forum and its users,” Meloni told the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.
He added: “It is disheartening to note that in 2025, there are still those who consider it normal and legitimate to trample on the dignity of a woman and attack her with sexist and vulgar insults, hiding in the anonymity behind a keyboard.
In an apparent nod to Italy’s current laws on vengeful pornography, Meloni said it has become clear that this is no longer just about revenge – and that protecting our data and our privacy is becoming increasingly crucial in our times.
Italy has a law of “pornography of revenge,” passed in 2019, which punishes with up to six years in prison the illegal dissemination of sexually explicit images.
Her sister Arianna, also talking to Corriere della Sera, blamed what she described as a “bad habit of a click society, where we meddle in private life, offend, look at the eye of the lock, ruin lives, and despise the real and important things that women achieve and conquer with their work day after day.
At the time, Meloni’s lawyer, Maria Giulia Marongiu, told the Italian media that the prime minister hoped to set an example for other victims of vengeful pornography and deepfake pornography to report those who defame them.
Prime Minister Meloni, who split from her long-time partner in 2023 after she was discovered making sexist comments, has previously spoken out about women’s issues, including deepfake pornography and domestic violence.
In 2024, Meloni sued a father and son accused of creating a deepfake video of her. He has demanded compensation of $108,200 in a civil trial and pledged to donate any financial gains to a state aid fund for women victims of violence. Both men have pleaded not guilty. The next hearing is scheduled for Sept.
Deepfakes are digitally created and altered content that can reproduce the exact image of a real person. On the other hand, manipulated images may include some original elements, but they have been edited to distort reality.
The Phica scandal has reignited the feminist debate in Italy and comes a week after an Italian Facebook page where thousands of men posted intimate images of their unfamiliar female partners, many of them without their consent, was closed after public outrage and multiple complaints to police.
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