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Low reported severity Media Coverage

Italian official condemns alleged AI sexualisation of her photograph in a political post

On the eve of the 27-28 September 2026 Chamber by-election in the Reggio Calabria constituency, Roberto Vannacci, leader of Futuro Nazionale, posted on Facebook a campaign image showing Matilde Siracusano, Undersecretary for Relations with Parliament and a Forza Italia deputy, seated at a table beside the centre-right candidate Fabio Roscioli and Senator Claudio Lotito. According to AGI and RaiNews, the white top Siracusano wears under her floral jacket in the original photograph (taken from her Instagram profile, per RaiNews) had disappeared and a much deeper neckline appeared in its place. The Calabrian blog Iacchite', to which Vannacci pointed, said it had published the image on 24 September, that it was not a real photograph but an image produced with artificial intelligence, and that the AI had reconstructed the neck and neckline area; Vannacci reposted it on 25 September without citing the source, according to the blog. Siracusano told Adnkronos that using AI to undress a woman in order to denigrate her was 'squalid'; RaiNews reports her calling it a crime and announcing her intention to file a criminal complaint (querela), while Adnkronos and ANSA say she was weighing one; she told la Repubblica that her lawyers would act. Vannacci replied that his accusers should 'look better' for whom to blame. Ministers and politicians across parties, including Forza Italia leader Antonio Tajani, condemned the post. No complaint filing, investigation or removal of the post is reported in the inspected sources.

AI system
Unidentified image tool
Occurred
24 Sept 2026 to 25 Sept 2026
Reported
26 September 2026
Event location
Italy
What the AI did
Depicted or impersonated the person
Reported harm
Reputational Harm
Whose AI use
Someone else’s AI use
Setting
Public life · Elections · Privacy
Evidence
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 8 sources
4 claims: 1 corroborated, 3 reported. 4 open questions
People reported harmed
1 person

AI system as recorded: An unidentified generative-AI image tool that, according to the blog Iacchite', produced the composite image and regenerated the neck and neckline area of Siracusano's photograph; the tool is not named

What Happened

AGI (26 September 2026) reported that an altered photograph of Siracusano appeared on the Facebook page of Roberto Vannacci, leader of Futuro Nazionale, captioned 'Il seggio di Reggio non è una succursale di Arcore né il bidone dell'umido della politica nazionale', showing her beside Fabio Roscioli, the centre-right by-election candidate, and Senator Claudio Lotito; in the original photograph she wears a white T-shirt under a floral jacket, which had 'disappeared'. RaiNews adds that the image was built from an original shot on her Instagram profile and that the modification consists of the white top vanishing and a much more pronounced neckline emerging. ANSA reports that the post, aimed at Calabria's regional president Roberto Occhiuto (Siracusano's partner), showed her 'with a deep neckline created artificially'. The blog Iacchite', via Adnkronos, said it published the image with an article on 24 September at 12:33, that it was an AI-generated scene (the three figures at a table in the Chamber of Deputies with a Calabria-shaped cake), and that the AI had reconstructed the neck and décolleté area where the original photo shows a light T-shirt; it called the image satirical and not pornographic. It said Vannacci reposted the image on 25 September at 8:27 without citing the source. Siracusano told Adnkronos that she was used to sexist attacks but this was unprecedented, that using AI to undress a woman to denigrate her was 'squalid', and that she was weighing a criminal complaint partly for the sake of more vulnerable people facing such attacks; RaiNews reports she called it a crime and announced a querela; la Repubblica quotes her saying her lawyers would act; Tempo Stretto (Messina) reports, citing Corriere della Sera, that she would turn to a lawyer. Vannacci wrote on Facebook that those accusing him 'without any concreteness' of altering a photo with AI should look better and direct accusations 'to whom they are due', linking to the blog. Tajani called the attack vulgar and unacceptable; Senate President Ignazio La Russa said it harmed her dignity as a woman. Who operated the AI tool and which tool was used are not reported beyond the blog's statement.

Reported harm

Siracusano says an AI-altered image that 'undressed' her was used for electoral propaganda to denigrate her; she called it sexist and squalid and announced legal action (her statements to Adnkronos, RaiNews, la Repubblica). The image circulated on a blog and on Vannacci's Facebook page and became a national controversy (AGI, ANSA).

Outcome

Ongoing

Siracusano announced her intention to file a criminal complaint (querela) and said her lawyers would act (RaiNews, la Repubblica, Tempo Stretto citing Corriere della Sera; ANSA says she was already considering it; Adnkronos says she was weighing a denuncia). No filing, prosecutor's investigation or platform action is reported in the inspected sources as of 26-27 September 2026. Vannacci denied altering the photo himself and pointed to the blog.

What remains unknown

  • Which AI tool produced the image and who operated it (the blog says the AI generated the altered area but does not name the tool or the person).
  • Whether the criminal complaint has been filed and under which offence; whether a prosecutor has opened an investigation.
  • Whether the post was removed from the blog or from Vannacci's Facebook page, and how widely it was shared.
  • The dates of the blog's publication (24 September) and Vannacci's repost (25 September) rest only on the blog's own statement relayed by Adnkronos; no other inspected source dates the Facebook post.

What the evidence supports

AI involvement: reported. The blog Iacchite', which says it first published the image, states it was 'elaborata con l'intelligenza artificiale' and that the AI reconstructed the neck and neckline area (via Adnkronos). RaiNews and Corriere della Calabria, in an identical passage, describe it as an image generated with AI; Adnkronos as a photo retouched by AI; AGI as a collage of other photos. Siracusano says it was altered with software and AI (RaiNews, Adnkronos). These outlet descriptions do not independently establish how the image was made. No tool is named and no forensic analysis is reported.

4 claims: 1 corroborated, 3 reported. What the statuses mean

Corroborated An altered photograph of Matilde Siracusano appeared on Roberto Vannacci's Facebook page in a by-election campaign post; in the original photograph she wears a white top under a floral jacket, and in the posted version the top had disappeared and a deeper neckline appeared in its place.

Causal attribution. AGI and RaiNews each describe the public post and its difference from the original photograph, and the blog that first published the image concedes that the original shows a light T-shirt; ANSA's phrase 'profonda scollatura creata artificialmente' repeats Mara Carfagna's statement quoted by AGI and Adnkronos (reviewer translation: 'the white top worn under the floral jacket disappears: in its place a much more pronounced neckline emerges'). Who made the alteration is addressed in c2.

  • agi.it(opens in new tab) supports · Italian
    'Una foto ritoccata della sottosegretaria ai Rapporti con il Parlamento e deputata di Forza Italia, Matilde Siracusano, compare sulla pagina Facebook di Roberto Vannacci, leader di Futuro Nazionale.'; 'nella foto originale Siracusano indossa una maglietta bianca sotto la giacca floreale, che però è 'sparita''
  • rainews.it(opens in new tab) supports · Italian
    'Nell’immagine, realizzata a partire da uno scatto originale del profilo Instagram della parlamentare'; 'La modifica consiste nella scomparsa della maglietta bianca indossata sotto la giacca floreale: al suo posto emerge una scollatura molto più accentuata.'
  • ansa.it(opens in new tab) context · Italian
    'ha pubblicato una foto della compagna del governatore, la sottosegretaria Matilde Siracusano, con una profonda scollatura creata artificialmente'
  • adnkronos.com(opens in new tab) supports · Italian
    'Nella fotografia originale di Matilde Siracusano sotto la giacca c’è effettivamente una maglietta chiara.'
Reported The blog Iacchite' says it published the image with an article on 24 September 2026, that the image was produced with artificial intelligence and was not a real photograph, that the AI reconstructed the neck and neckline area where the original photograph shows a light T-shirt, and that Vannacci reposted it on 25 September without citing the source.

Causal attribution. The blog's own account relayed by Adnkronos (reviewer translation: 'What we published was not a real photograph. It was an image produced with artificial intelligence'). The blog does not name the tool or say who prompted it; it characterises the image as satirical and not pornographic.

  • adnkronos.com(opens in new tab) supports · Italian
    'Quella che abbiamo pubblicato -afferma ancora il blog- non era una fotografia reale. Era un’immagine elaborata con l’intelligenza artificiale.'; 'Nell’immagine elaborata quella parte è stata invece ricostruita artificialmente dall’intelligenza artificiale'; 'risale addirittura a giovedì 24 settembre alle 12,33'; 'venerdì 25 settembre alle 8,27'
  • rainews.it(opens in new tab) context · Italian
    'pubblicando il link del blog Iacchitè, che aveva pubblicato l'immagine generata con l'IA'
Reported Siracusano described the image as using AI to undress a woman in order to denigrate her, called it a crime, and said she intended to file, or was weighing, a criminal complaint (querela); she told la Repubblica that her lawyers would act.

Causal attribution. Her own statements to several outlets (reviewer translation of Adnkronos: 'Using artificial intelligence to undress a woman, with the evident will to denigrate a woman, is a gigantic problem for everyone'). An announced complaint is recorded; no filing is reported.

Reported Vannacci replied on Facebook that those accusing him without any concreteness of having altered a photo with AI should look better and direct their accusations to whom they are due, linking to the blog that had published the image.

Causal attribution. Vannacci's public reply as quoted by Corriere della Calabria and Adnkronos; he denies making the alteration and does not dispute that he posted the image.

  • corrieredellacalabria.it(opens in new tab) supports · Italian
    'A chi mi accusa, senza alcuna concretezza, di aver modificato una foto con la IA, rispondo di cercare meglio e di rivolgere le accuse, eventualmente, a chi di dovere'
  • adnkronos.com(opens in new tab) supports · Italian
    'rimandando al blog che ha pubblicato il post corredato con la foto manipolata della deputata di Forza Italia'

Sources

8 sources inspected. Sources that repeat one account do not corroborate each other.

How the sources were read, and where the events happened

Read live on 2026-09-27 (AGI, 26 September 2026; Italian). Describes the Facebook post and the original photo. Quotations are Italian originals; English renderings in this record are reviewer translations, no human translator. Applies to s1.

Read live on 2026-09-27 (RaiNews, 26 September 2026; Italian). Describes the alteration, Siracusano's statement announcing a querela, and Vannacci's reply. Reviewer translation. Siracusano's quoted words ('una scelta perversa e squallida') match those ANSA attributes to her Corriere.it interview, so for c3 this likely relays the same interview as s7. Applies to s2.

Read live on 2026-09-27 (Adnkronos, 26 September 2026; Italian). Siracusano's direct comments to Adnkronos, Vannacci's Facebook reply and political reactions. Reviewer translation. Applies to s3.

Read live on 2026-09-27 (Adnkronos, 26 September 2026; Italian). Relays the blog Iacchite's own statement on how and when it published the AI image; the blog post itself was not read. Reviewer translation. Applies to s4.

Read live on 2026-09-27 (ANSA; Italian). Canonical URL of the article read (the Google News link resolved to an older slug with the same ID); headed 'Domani si vota alle suppletive a Reggio, tempesta su Vannacci per la foto fake di Matilde Siracusano'. Reviewer translation. Applies to s5.

Read on 2026-09-27 (la Repubblica interview, 26 September 2026; Italian). Only the opening of the interview was available (JSON-LD article body); the remainder is paywalled and was not read. Reviewer translation. Applies to s6.

Read live on 2026-09-27 (Tempo Stretto, Messina, 26 September 2026; Italian). Relays Siracusano's statement to Corriere della Sera (not read). Reviewer translation. Applies to s7.

Read live on 2026-09-27 (Corriere della Calabria, 26 September 2026; Italian). Quotes Vannacci's Facebook reply. Reviewer translation. Its account of Vannacci's reply is word-for-word identical to the corresponding RaiNews paragraph (s2), so the two share one account for c4. Applies to s8.

Event countries: Italy. Affected-person countries: Italy. Court countries: Unknown.

The image was published by a Calabrian blog and on the Facebook page of an Italian party leader in the campaign for the Reggio Calabria by-election (AGI, RaiNews, ANSA, Adnkronos); Siracusano is an Italian deputy and undersecretary. No filed complaint or court is reported, so court_countries is empty.

Reviewed for publication 2026-09-27: Published under the 2026-09-15 charter as a core depicted_or_impersonated case: several national outlets describe an AI-altered image of a named public figure that removed clothing and generated a deeper neckline, circulated in an election campaign; the blog that first published it says it was produced with AI. She announced legal action. The tool and operator are unknown.

People described

Matilde Siracusano, Undersecretary of State for Relations with Parliament and Forza Italia deputy (a public figure)

People reported harmed in this case

1 person

0 AI participants · 1 other person harmed

One person, Matilde Siracusano, depicted in the altered image (AGI, RaiNews, Adnkronos). Exact 1.

Counted once within this case. The same person may appear in other cases. This count does not establish AI causation.

Tags

#deepfake#image-manipulation#politics#election#italy#calabria#sexualised-imagery

Cite this case

Compiled per our published methodology: verification statuses, sourcing standards, and corrections process.

APA

NOPE. (2026). Italian official condemns alleged AI sexualisation of her photograph in a political post. AI incidents. https://nope.net/incidents/2026-italy-siracusano-ai-altered-photo-vannacci-facebook-reggio-by-election

BibTeX

@misc{2026_italy_siracusano_ai_altered_photo_vannacci_facebook_reggio_by_election,
  title = {Italian official condemns alleged AI sexualisation of her photograph in a political post},
  author = {NOPE},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {AI incidents},
  url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2026-italy-siracusano-ai-altered-photo-vannacci-facebook-reggio-by-election}
}

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