Sexist Italian image-sharing web site compelled to close after political outcry

[ad_1] Sarah Rainsford Southern and Japanese Europe correspondent, Rome

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/4f8e/live/a3f418c0-84d1-11f0-b391-6936825093bd.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/4f8e/live/a3f418c0-84d1-11f0-b391-6936825093bd.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/4f8e/live/a3f418c0-84d1-11f0-b391-6936825093bd.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/4f8e/live/a3f418c0-84d1-11f0-b391-6936825093bd.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/4f8e/live/a3f418c0-84d1-11f0-b391-6936825093bd.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/4f8e/live/a3f418c0-84d1-11f0-b391-6936825093bd.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/4f8e/live/a3f418c0-84d1-11f0-b391-6936825093bd.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/4f8e/live/a3f418c0-84d1-11f0-b391-6936825093bd.jpg.webp" loading="eager" alt="Getty Images/LaPresse via AP Two Italian politicians side by side in a composite image - one has blond hair and has her hand on her chin on the left, the other is smiling and has dark hair" class="sc-d1200759-0 dvfjxj"/> Getty Pictures/LaPresse through AP Italy's prime minister stated she was disgusted by the location whereas MEP Alessandra Moretti stated it included incitement to rape

An Italian web site that posted doctored pictures of well-known girls, together with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, with obscene commentary, has introduced its closure after a backlash from different feminine politicians.

The express web site referred to as Phica, a play on the Italian slang for vagina, now shows a message saying it has shut down "with nice remorse" as a result of "poisonous behaviour" of some customers.

Meloni herself has stated she is "disgusted" by the location and referred to as for these accountable to be punished "with the utmost firmness".

The removing of Phica comes days after celeb figures led a wave of public anger in opposition to an Italian Fb group referred to as Mia Moglie (My Spouse), the place hundreds of males had been swapping intimate pictures of their companions apparently with out their information.

These footage had been posted with express and even violent feedback, with customers stated to incorporate former politicians, businessmen and cops.

Meta has since closed down the group for "violating our grownup sexual exploitation insurance policies".

Phica was a far greater operation, stated to have some 700,000 customers, and had been lively for 20 years regardless of earlier complaints.

Its so-called VIP part contained pictures of feminine Italian politicians and different distinguished figures, from actresses to influencers, taken both from public appearances or lifted from private social media accounts.

The photographs, together with seashore pictures in swimwear, had been digitally altered earlier than being posted in albums with titles like "scorching politicians" with different suggestive and sexist captions, prompting vulgar commentary beneath.

Alessandra Moretti, an MEP who spoke out in opposition to the location, says it additionally included incitement to rape.

Pictures had been altered after which pushed out to customers, she instructed the BBC.

"This was adopted by a flood of obscene feedback that haven't solely harmed my emotional well-being but in addition endangered the security of many ladies," stated the MEP from the opposition Democratic Social gathering.

She believed that distinguished political figures like her had an obligation to take a stand and converse out for different girls who had been being focused.

"Platforms that incite rape and violence should be shut down and banned," she added. "Violence breeds violence and it is time to put an finish to it."

Phica's assertion asserting its closure blamed customers who it stated had perverted the "spirit and authentic function" of the platform, claiming that it had been supposed for many who needed to "share their content material in a protected atmosphere".

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/d09d/live/27f14210-84cd-11f0-9a8e-b57ad0129150.png.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/d09d/live/27f14210-84cd-11f0-9a8e-b57ad0129150.png.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/d09d/live/27f14210-84cd-11f0-9a8e-b57ad0129150.png.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/d09d/live/27f14210-84cd-11f0-9a8e-b57ad0129150.png.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/d09d/live/27f14210-84cd-11f0-9a8e-b57ad0129150.png.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/d09d/live/27f14210-84cd-11f0-9a8e-b57ad0129150.png.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/d09d/live/27f14210-84cd-11f0-9a8e-b57ad0129150.png.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/d09d/live/27f14210-84cd-11f0-9a8e-b57ad0129150.png.webp" loading="lazy" alt="A screengrab on a website showing a script in Italian - the top half is blacked out" class="sc-d1200759-0 dvfjxj"/> Phica stated on its web site it had been conceived as a platform for dialogue and sharing however had since turn into perverted

But it surely accepted that the platform had turn into one thing folks "needed to distance themselves from, not be pleased with", and pledged that each one content material would now be deleted.

The assertion was illustrated with emoji-like pictures of tears and ended with the phrases "See you quickly".

Italy's Postal Police, who take care of cyber-crime, have confirmed to the BBC that an investigation has been launched.

Phica stated it had all the time blocked and reported all types of violence and pictures of minors.

However a petition for its closure on Change.org, which collected near 170,000 signatures, stated it had included footage of individuals taken secretly in altering rooms and wonder salons "or filmed by hidden microcameras in public loos".

Earlier complaints concerning the Mia Moglie group had additionally gone unheeded.

That modified final week when the author Carolina Capria denounced the group in a put up that went viral. Girls who recognised themselves within the pictures then started to talk out.

Police say they've since been inundated with stories about these and different platforms.

"It's disheartening to notice that in 2025, there are nonetheless those that contemplate it regular and legit to trample on a lady's dignity and goal her with sexist and vulgar insults, hiding behind anonymity or a keyboard," Italy's prime minister instructed Corriere della Sera newspaper.