Star Metro - Italy's Meloni slams photo sharing in lewd sites scandal

"I am disgusted by what has happened", Meloni told the Corriere della Sera daily, after doctored photos of a series of high-profile women -- including Meloni and opposition leader Elly Schlein -- were discovered on a pornographic website.

The images, ranging from photographs at political rallies to holiday snaps stolen from personal social media accounts, had been altered to highlight or sexualise body parts.

The platform, called Phica -- a play on a slang term for vagina in Italian -- had more than 700,000 subscribers before it closed on Thursday, blaming users for breaking its rules.

That followed the discovery last week of a now-shuttered Italian Facebook group called "My Wife", where men posted photos of their wives and made vulgar, sexist and violent comments.

"I want to extend my solidarity and support to all the women who have been offended, insulted and violated," Meloni said.

"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," she said.

Italian police told AFP they had received "many" reports about these and other sites posting lewd or doctored images without consent.

- 'Rape culture' -

Meloni, Italy's first woman prime minister, said those responsible must be identified and punished "with the utmost firmness" as quickly as possible.

"Content that is considered harmless can, in the wrong hands, become a terrible weapon. And we must all be aware of this," she said.

"The best defence available to protect ourselves and those around us" is to "immediately report" such crimes, she told victims.

Schlein said the posts were part of a "rape culture" which was not only "normalised and justified online", but "incited by providing specific outlets for the venting of the worst impulses".

Phica had existed since 2005 and remained open despite numerous reports lodged over the years with the police, according to the Post online newspaper.

The newspaper said the site organised "cum tributes", with men posting proof of masturbation over photographs of fellow users' wives or girlfriends.

One victim, Mary Galati, said she discovered she was on it in 2023 and used her father's identity documents to sign up, as the site would only accept male users.

The site was "hell", the Post quoted her as saying, with "husbands sharing photos of their wives (and) men exposing their partners or relatives.

"Even fathers uploading photos of their very young daughters -- four or five-year-old girls -- being sexualised. Photos of their feet, their bodies, accompanied by sexist and paedophile comments."

Equality Minister Eugenia Roccella said the government was working on cultural reforms to combat the "third-millennium barbarity", while women's rights advocates announced a potential class action.

P.Beaulieu--SMC