Journalist ordered to pay over $5,000 to Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni for making fun of her height

A judge in Milan has ordered an Italian journalist to pay 5,000 euros (nearly $5,500) in damages to Premier Giorgia Meloni for making fun of her height in social media posts.

The judge ruled on Wednesday that two social media posts by journalist Giulia Cortese, who was also handed a suspended fine of 1,200 euros ($1,300), amounted to "body shaming."

In October 2021, when Meloni was still in opposition, Cortese posted a digitally altered picture on X, showing the far-right politician standing in front of a bookshelf with an image of Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini in the background.