The dispute began in October 2021 when Cortese posted a mocked-up image of Meloni standing in front of a bookshelf with a framed photo of fascist dictator Benito Mussolini added.

Meloni’s far-right Brothers of Italy party was still in opposition at the time. Cortese later deleted the image, acknowledging it was fake, but accused Meloni of creating a “media pillory” against her.

In a subsequent tweet, Cortese referred to Meloni as a “little woman” and said “I can’t even see you,” alluding to the PM’s reported height of 1.63m (5ft 3in).

Meloni sued Cortese over these tweets, leading to the court ruling that Cortese must pay damages.

Reacting to the verdict, Cortese claimed the Italian government has “a serious problem with freedom of expression and journalistic dissent.”

She stated that the country is “getting closer to [Viktor] Orbán’s Hungary” and is a bad time for independent journalists and opinion leaders.

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Meloni’s lawyer said any money received from the ruling would be donated to charity.

The journalist has the option to appeal the decision, though she has not yet confirmed whether she will do so.