Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni posted an AI-generated photo of herself in lingerie on social media yesterday. She shared the fake image as a warning about how convincing AI-created photos have become.
Meloni isn’t the first politician targeted by AI fakes, but she’s taking an unusual approach. Instead of hiding from the technology, she’s showing people exactly how realistic these images look. Her message was simple: don’t believe everything you see online.
Fighting Fire With Fire
The photo wasn’t technically a deepfake, which swaps faces between real photos. Instead, it was completely generated by AI using her face as a reference. This makes it nearly impossible to detect because there’s no original photo to trace back to.
Meloni has already sued two men for creating fake videos of her this year. But this time, she joked that the AI versions look “a lot better” than she does in real life. Her post ended with advice that sounds very 2026: “Check before believing, and believe before sharing.”
The timing feels important. Fake AI-generated people are fooling millions on social media. Just recently, an AI influencer named Jessica Foster gained a million followers in three months before Instagram deleted the fake account.
What’s Next
Meloni’s stunt highlights how world leaders are grappling with AI fakes. Expect more politicians to address this directly as the technology gets better and harder to spot.
