Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has slammed the release of AI-generated deepfake images of her, including one depicting her wearing lingerie and sitting on a bed.
Meloni said on social media the images were false and probably circulated by political opponents in an apparent bid to turn voters against her.
Meloni wrote on Facebook on Tuesday (Wednesday AEST): "In recent days, several fake images of me have been circulating, generated using artificial intelligence and passed off as real by some overzealous opponents.
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"I must admit that whoever created them … even improved my appearance quite a bit," she joked.
"But the fact remains that, in order to attack and spread falsehoods, people are now willing to use absolutely anything."
Meloni, Italy's first female prime minister, says she also hopes the release of the fake photos would tackle online critics who fell for the deception and criticised her.
But the Italian leader also addressed the wider use of deepfake images as a "dangerous tool" designed to harm their victims, who without her high profile have little opportunity to respond.
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https://twitter.com/GiorgiaMeloni/status/2051672420440764626?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"The issue goes beyond me. Deepfakes are a dangerous tool, because they can deceive, manipulate and target anyone. I can defend myself. Many others cannot. For this reason, one rule should always apply: verify before believing, and think before sharing. Because today it happens to me, tomorrow it could happen to anyone," said Meloni.
Meloni has been the target of deepfakes before. The Italian PM was listed as an injured party in the case of a man in Sardinia last year accused of making deepfake pornographic images using her face and posting them online.
She took the unusual step of posting the current images as the European Union investigates technology firms for allowing users to access AI software that generates fake nude images.
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