As she reeled from the discovery of a pornographic website featuring AI-generated images of herself naked, the prominent Italian journalist and writer Francesca Barra said the question that struck her the most came from her young daughter.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe asked me: \u2018how do you feel?\u2019,\u201d Barra, 47, said. \u201cBut what I heard was another more subtle question that my pre-adolescent daughter perhaps didn\u2019t have the courage to ask, and that was: \u2018If it happened to me, how would I handle it?\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
Social Media Girls, which has more than 7 million worldwide subscribers and includes a section dedicated to \u201cItalian nude VIPs\u201d, is the latest in a series of sexist online forums to have surfaced in Italy\u2019s public domain in recent months.<\/p>\n
It follows Mia Moglie (My Wife), a now-shuttered Facebook group where men exchanged intimate photos of their wives, and a website called Phica, a misspelt play on a slang word for vagina in Italian, where doctored images<\/a> accompanied by obscene comments of dozens of high-profile women, including the prime minister, Giorgia Meloni,<\/a> were published. Phica has since been removed by Italian prosecutors and the man who operated the site is under investigation, while Social Media Girls is being investigated amid calls to close it down.<\/p>\n In a reaction reminiscent of #MeToo, dozens of journalists, actors, influencers and female politicians targeted on the sites have spoken out against what has been collectively described as \u201cvirtual rape\u201d.<\/p>\n The Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, is one of many high-profile women to have their doctored images posted on Phica. Photograph: Remo Casilli\/Reuters<\/p>\n Italy has long grappled with profound misogyny but the rapid spread of sexist forums, especially those using AI, is presenting an additional and hugely complex challenge.<\/p>\n Barra, who hosts a political TV show on the Rete 4 channel was the first well-known Italian woman to publicly denounce and submit a legal complaint against Social Media Girls, which has been active for 11 years and featured \u201cnudified\u201d images of several personalities, including the actor Sophia Loren<\/a>.<\/p>\n The mother of four was informed her image was on the site by a man who visited it.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I first saw it, I felt violated and mortified,\u201d Barra said. \u201cThen I became angry and told myself: \u2018I will not allow anyone to violate me twice\u2019. Possibly the only consolation is that it was pointed out by a man, who obviously frequents porn sites but who seemed to understand that this is not just a game of sexual perversion between men, but a real crime against the inviolable principle of consent.\u201d<\/p>\n Barra said it was her duty to speak out on behalf of the women who do not share the same level of public prominence or who are too afraid to come forward because they fear being judged.<\/p>\n \u2018Nudified\u2019 AI images of Sophia Loren were shared on Social Media Girls, which is now under investigation. Photograph: Mario Anzuoni\/Reuters<\/p>\n This is the challenge facing a team at the law firm Annamaria Bernardini de Pace, which is working to bring together a class action lawsuit against the sexist forums.<\/p>\n One of the lawyers, Daniela Caputo, said it was mainly the younger women who were reluctant to join the legal action. \u201cA 21-year-old was totally shocked when she found her photos on Phica but is unsure about whether to participate,\u201d she added. \u201cCompared to older, more accomplished women, she fears that over-exposing herself will affect her reputation, her job prospects and, ultimately, the rest of her life.\u201d<\/p>\n Another hindrance is that the vast majority of the women affected do not have the economic capacity to pursue their cases legally, especially with many financially entwined with the men responsible for sharing the images, for example the husbands who contributed to Mia Moglie.<\/p>\n There is also frustration among the ordinary women who for years reported the forums to police but whose complaints were not taken seriously.<\/p>\n