Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
US President Donald Trump: “I think we’re going to have a deal on Gaza very soon."
Yemeni Armed Forces spokesman announced an attack against a vital target in Askalan with a drone and attacked al-Lyd Airport with another drone.
Yemeni Armed Forces spokesman announced an operation with 3 drones against 2 sensitive targets in Al-Naqab.
Yemeni Armed Forces said it targeted several targets in the al-Naqab, Umm al-Rashrash/Eilat, occupied Askalan, Asdud, and Yafa with several drones.
Israeli Channel 12: Drone launched from Yemen which struck passenger lounge in Ramon Airport, two injured.
Presidium: We have a very urgent resolution, and if general principles and details approved, it will be discussed in public session.
Spokesperson of Presidium: Guardian Council members will attend Parliament tomorrow during discussions for resolution on NPT withdrawal.
Iran's parliamentary presidium: We will look today into parliamentary National Security Committee's recommendations on withdrawal from NPT.
Ukrainian media: Fire in Ukrainian government building in Kiev.
Trump signs executive order on changing name of Department of Defense to Department of War

Italian opposition protests far-right’s use of racist AI images

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: The Guardian
  • 19 Apr 2025 10:43
4 Min Read

Opposition parties in Italy have filed a formal complaint with Agcom, accusing Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini’s far-right League party of using AI-generated images that promote racist, Islamophobic, and xenophobic propaganda.

Listen
  • x
  • A composite of the allegedly AI‑generated photos that have appeared on the League’s social channels on Facebook, Instagram and X. The complaint alleges the images contain ‘almost all categories of hate speech’. Composite: Guardian Design/League
    A composite of the allegedly AI‑generated photos that have appeared on the League’s social channels on Facebook, Instagram and X. The complaint alleges the images contain ‘almost all categories of hate speech’. (The Guardian Design/League)

A report by The Guardian on Friday revealed that opposition parties in Italy have filed a formal complaint with the country’s communications authority, Agcom, regarding AI-generated images shared by Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini’s far-right League party. The opposition, including the centre-left Democratic Party (PD), the Greens, and the Left Alliance, described the images as "racist, Islamophobic and xenophobic."

The complaint, filed on Thursday, claims that the images circulated by the League contain "almost all categories of hate speech." In recent weeks, dozens of AI-created images have been posted across the League’s social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, and X. These images often depict men of colour, some armed with knives, attacking women or police officers.

PD senator Antonio Nicita commented, "In the images published by Salvini’s party and generated by AI, there are almost all categories of hate speech, from racism and xenophobia to Islamophobia." He further explained, "They are using AI to target specific categories of people, immigrants, Arabs, who are portrayed as potential criminals, thieves and rapists."

According to the report, the complaint also highlights concerns over the deceptive nature of the images. "These images are not only violent but also deceptive: by blurring the faces of the victims, it is as if they want to protect the identity of the person attacked, misleading users into believing the photo is real. These are images that incite hatred."

Related News

Anthropic reaches $1.5 bln settlement in AI book piracy lawsuit

WSJ: US Army deploys pocket-sized AI to transform modern warfare

AI-Generated content and far-right propaganda

A spokesperson for Salvini’s party acknowledged that "some of the pictures" featured on their social media had been "generated digitally." The party responded by stating, "The point is not the image. The point is the fact. Each post is based on true reports from Italian newspapers, with names, dates, and places." They further added, "If reality seems too harsh, do not blame those who report it, but those who make it so."

The report mentioned that Salvatore Romano, head of research at AI Forensics, analyzed the League’s images, stating, “They are out‑of‑context photos in which the subject is in the foreground and the rest is entirely blurred. What worries me is that these AI‑generated images are becoming ever more realistic.”

The complaint to Agcom also highlights how these images were shared alongside the logos of well-known mainstream media outlets. While these media outlets reported on the crimes mentioned, they did not use images of the alleged perpetrators. For example, one League post paired the headline "A foreigner attacks the train conductor" with an AI-generated image of a man of colour with his fist raised. Il Resto del Carlino’s article on the incident referred to the suspect simply as a "foreigner" without including a photograph of the attacker.

Read next: UK watchdog to probe possible AI recruitment discrimination

In one particularly controversial image, a mother and father in Islamic dress were shown allegedly shouting at a girl, a portrayal the complaint argues feeds into racial and Islamophobic prejudice. However, Il Giorno's report did not mention the family's religion, only noting that the child had attended Arabic language school.

According to The Guardian, the use of AI-generated images for far-right political propaganda has increased, particularly following last year’s European elections. According to Romano, "Then came the American elections with Donald Trump and Elon Musk, who effectively normalised this trend, warning, "Today, we see that far‑right parties have not only continued to generate fake images for propaganda but have also increased their use at a time when AI tools have improved content quality, making the phenomenon all the more worrying."

 

  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Italy
  • Racism
  • Islamophobia
  • AI-generated images
  • Far-Right

Most Read

Al Mayadeen English

Hezbollah’s weapons and the lessons of Syria, PLO, and Algeria

  • Politics
  • 2 Sep 2025
This Jan. 31, 2019 file photo, shows an oil platform in the Leviathan natural gas field, in the Mediterranean Sea off the Palestinian coast. (AP)

Netanyahu freezes $35 bln gas deal with Egypt over troops in Sinai

  • Politics
  • 2 Sep 2025
The Coming War On Iran Will Be Regional, Perhaps International

The coming war on Iran will be regional, perhaps international

  • Opinion
  • 2 Sep 2025
Why Russia and China are NOT Imperialist: A Marxist-Leninist Assessment of Imperialism’s Development Since 1917

Why Russia and China are NOT Imperialist: A Marxist-Leninist Assessment of Imperialism’s Development Since 1917

  • Analysis
  • 4 Sep 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
Iran's Leader Sayyed Ali Khamenei waves as he arrives for a ceremony marking the anniversary of the death of the late leader Sayyed Ruhollah Khomeini at his shrine just outside Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, June 4, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Sayyed Khamenei calls for prioritizing economy, national unity

Palestinians line up to receive donated food at a community kitchen in Deir al-Balah, southern Gaza Strip, Saturday, September 6, 2025 (AP)
Politics

HRW urges arms embargo on Israeli regime amid Gaza famine crisis

Blackwater founder Erik Prince speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC, at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025, in Oxon Hill, Md. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Politics

Blackwater founder seeks to acquire Ukrainian drone companies: report

Brigadier General Yahya Saree, the spokesperson of the Yemeni Armed Forces, announces a military operation against several targets in occupied Palestine, September 7, 2025 (Yemeni Military Media)
Politics

YAF announce major drone op. against multiple Israeli targets

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS