Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni has urged women to immediately report intimate photographs shared online without their consent, after it emerged that even the premier herself had been targeted.
“I am disgusted by what has happened,” Meloni told Corriere della Sera after manipulated images of several high-profile women—including herself and opposition leader Elly Schlein—were discovered on a pornographic website.
The images had been digitally altered to highlight or sexualize certain body parts. The platform, called Phica—a play on a vulgar Italian slang term for vagina—had more than 700,000 subscribers before it was shut down on Thursday. The shutdown followed the recent discovery of a now-closed Italian Facebook group called My Wife, where men posted photos of their spouses alongside vulgar, sexist, and violent comments.
“It is depressing that in 2025, there are still people who think it’s normal and acceptable to violate a woman’s dignity and attack her with sexist and vulgar insults, hiding behind anonymity or their keyboards,” Meloni said.
Italian police have received numerous reports about Phica and other websites that publish obscene or manipulated images without consent. Meloni emphasized that those responsible must be identified as quickly as possible and punished “with the utmost severity.”
According to Post online newspaper, the Phica platform had existed since 2005 and remained online despite multiple reports to authorities over the years.
