An Italian politician has sparked outrage after sharing an AI-manipulated image that appears to “undress” another female lawmaker — months after Italy’s prime minister shared a deepfake nude image of herself to warn of the technology’s dangers.

Roberto Vannacci, leader of the far-right Futuro Nazionale party, shared the AI-generated image of his political rival Matilde Siracusano, who is a member of Italy’s parliament and an undersecretary in Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s coalition government.

According to a report by The Telegrpaph of London, the original photo of Siracusano, which was posted on her Instagram account, showed her wearing a white top underneath a floral print blazer. In the image, Vannacci used AI to remove the white top Siracusano was wearing under her blazer. Instead, she is portrayed in the doctored image with a plunging neckline that shows her cleavage.

Meloni’s coalition government, which Siracusano serves for, has been in office in Italy for a record four years. Meanwhile, Vannacci’s party has risen to about 8% in polls since it was launched in February. The AI-generated photo, which was shared by Vannacci to urge his supporters to vote for him in a by-election in Reggio Calabria.

‘A Huge Problem for All of Us’

The image has caused uproar in Italy, with Siracusano threatening to file legal action against Vannacci over the AI-generated photo.

“I am used to sexist attacks, and I have broad shoulders, but frankly this is unheard of. It’s really disgusting,” Siracusano says, according to The Telegraph. “To use AI to undress a woman, with the intention of denigrating her, is a huge problem for all of us. It’s squalid and it is even more deplorable and serious when the person doing it is a political leader.”

The controversy comes months after Meloni, Italy’s first woman prime minister, shared an AI-generated image showing herself in a state of undress as part of a warning about deepfake images and online abuse targeting women in Italian politics. Meloni took to social media to share the AI image, which she says was created by a political rival.

Girano in questi giorni diverse mie foto false, generate con l’intelligenza artificiale e spacciate per vere da qualche solerte oppositore.

Devo riconoscere che chi le ha realizzate, almeno nel caso in allegato, mi ha anche migliorata parecchio. Ma resta il fatto che, pur di… pic.twitter.com/or44qru2qj

— Giorgia Meloni (@GiorgiaMeloni) May 5, 2026

“In recent days, several fake photos of me are circulating, generated with artificial intelligence and passed off as real by some zealous opponent,” Meloni writes.

She adds that, “whoever created them, at least in the attached case, has also improved me quite a bit. But the fact remains that, just to attack and invent falsehoods, nowadays anything at all is used.”

Since rising to the southern European country’s highest office, Meloni has targeted deepfakes: passing a groundbreaking AI law last year that sets penalties and safeguards to curb the technology’s misuses. The legislation is aligned with the EU’s broader AI Act.

Meloni also brought a civil case against two men she accused of making a deepfake pornographic video of her. And last year, a website was shut down after it published deepfake pornographic images of prominent Italian women, including Meloni. Prosecutors in Rome have opened an investigation.