Italian police investigate porn site over AI-generated nudes
Italian police have launched a formal investigation into pornographic website SocialMediaGirls over its inclusion of dozens of sexually explicit AI-generated images of Italian celebrities, including influencer Chiara Ferragni and TV host Diletta Leotta, Ansa reported.
The case first came to light on Sunday, when Italian journalist and writer Francesca Barra said in an Instagram post she had discovered doctored images of herself on the site.
AI-generated pornography is a form of “violence and abuse that scars dignity, reputation, and trust,” she said, noting that “technology should serve as a tool for progress, not for oppression.”
SocialMediaGirls has over seven million subscribers worldwide, according to La Repubblica. Besides AI-generated pornography, the website includes private sex cams, escort search engines, and virtual sex simulators.
Italian media reports said the upcoming police investigation aimed to identify the site’s owners and managers in connection with charges of unlawful distribution of sexually explicit material and illegal processing of personal data.
Online abuse has been a hot-button issue in Italy in recent months, after doctored images of a series of high-profile women, including Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, were discovered on now-defunct pornographic website Phica.
81-year-old man killed in road collision with Inter goalkeeper Martinez
An 81-year-old man in a motorised wheelchair died on Tuesday after being hit by a car driven by Inter Milan goalkeeper Josep Martinez, La Repubblica reported.
The crash occurred at around 9:40am in Fenegrò, in Italy’s Como province, while Martinez was driving to Inter Milan’s Appiano Gentile training ground.
Despite the prompt intervention of local emergency services, the victim, identified by Italian media as Paolo Saibene, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police have launched an investigation into the crash, with investigators reportedly looking into whether Saibene may have suffered a medical episode prior to the impact.
A native of Alzira, Spain, 27-year-old Martinez is the back-up goalkeeper at Inter behind Swiss national Yann Sommer. He joined Inter from Genoa last year and has since made 12 appearances for the Italian side.
Italian defence minister says Ukraine ‘will never regain’ occupied territories
Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said on Tuesday that Ukraine won’t be able to regain the territories currently occupied by Russia, even with Western nations’ help.
Recapturing the areas lost since the beginning of Moscow’s invasion is “now considered impossible by everyone," Crosetto said in an interview with journalist Bruno Vespa, noting that "Ukraine won’t have the strength to win them back on its own, even with our help.”
“Russia will never give the [territories] up,” he added, stressing that Putin has put himself in a position where he “cannot turn back”.
Crosetto also lamented the fact that many Italians “have been corrupted” by Russian “propaganda and misinformation.”
"Russia is attacking us with a hybrid, cognitive war,” he added, warning of Moscow’s “sophisticated use of social and other information tools” to influence public opinion.
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