Italy’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, has criticised the circulation of AI-generated deepfake images of her, including one depicting her in lingerie, after they were widely shared online.

Meloni wrote on Facebook on Tuesday: “In recent days, several fake images of me have been circulating, generated using artificial intelligence and passed off as real by some overzealous opponents.

“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.”

In her post, Meloni shared an AI-generated image showing her apparently dressed in lingerie, seated on a bed – a fabrication that had gone viral and prompted a wave of condemnation from users who believed it to be genuine.

One user wrote: “That a prime minister should present herself in such a state is truly shameful. Unworthy of the institutional role she holds. She has no sense of shame.”

In her statement, Meloni denounced what she described as a form of cyberbullying, warning that AI-generated images were an increasingly dangerous tool capable of misleading and harming individuals.

“The issue goes beyond me,” she added. “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.”

The fight against the risks posed by AI and deepfakes has become a central plank of the agenda of Meloni’s far-right government.

Last September, Italy became the first EU country to approve a comprehensive law regulating the use of AI, introducing prison terms for those who deploy the technology to cause harm — including the creation of deepfakes — and placing limits on children’s access.

Meloni’s government said the legislation, aligned with the bloc’s landmark EU AI Act, marked a decisive step in shaping how artificial intelligence was developed and used across the country.

The law followed a scandal over a pornographic website that published doctored images of prominent Italian women, including Meloni and the opposition leader Elly Schlein, which triggered outrage in Italy.

The images – lifted from social media or public appearances and altered with vulgar, sexist captions – were shared on a platform with more than 700,000 subscribers. Many showed female politicians across party lines, manipulated to emphasise body parts or imply sexualised poses.

The Italian police ordered the site to be shut down, while prosecutors in Rome opened an investigation over alleged offences including the unlawful dissemination of sexually explicit images (so-called revenge porn), defamation and extortion.