Italian journalist to pay $5,500 for mocking PM Girorgia Meloni's height

An Italian court has ordered a journalist to pay $5,466 (5,000 euros) in damages to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni for mocking her on social media, according to local media reports.


The journalist will also have to cough out $1,311 for a post in October 2021 making fun of the Italian PM"s height.

The journalist, identified as Giulia Cortes, initially shared a doctored photo of Meloni with a portrait of late fascist leader Benito Mussolini in the background.

Meloni, whose far-right Brothers of Italy party was in the opposition at the time and took exception to the pictures posted by Cortes. 36-year-old Cortes removed the picture after receiving a request but got into trouble when she insulted Meloni on X (Formerly Twitter) by calling her a 'little woman'

This is not the first instance that an individual has been forced to pay a fine for crossing Meloni. Last year, a court in Rome fined best-selling author Roberto Saviano 1,000 euros plus legal expenses after he insulted her on television in 2021 over her hardline stance on illegal immigration.