Bonaccini posts a fake photo of Tajani, FI rises up

A photo with the Maga hat firmly on your head. Created with AI. And which unleashes the wrath of the entire Forza Italia. A post on social media by Stefano Bonaccini ends up in the storm, showing an image of Antonio Tajani wearing a hat with the words "Make America great again", accompanied by the comment 'Never been Trumpians'. A "false" photo, the Azzurri immediately go on the attack, defending their leader, who the dem president then removes, explaining that it was only "a meme".

A post also stigmatized by the Minister of Defense, Guido Crosetto (a "serious act on the part of those who hold political and institutional responsibilities") and by Giorgia Meloni, while the secretary of the Democratic Party, Elly Schlein, speaks of "unacceptable attacks" referring to the other case involving the deputy prime minister - the diffusion of his and his family's personal data on the dark web, for which Tajani also receives the solidarity of his allies - but does not mention the "Bonaccini case".

The Prime Minister, however, in saying she is "concerned" about the attacks on the dark web, does not fail to sting the opposing side: "Equally worrying - says the Prime Minister - is the circulation of false images, also spread by opposition members", pointing out that "freedom of expression can never become a ground for disinformation". These are the aftermath of the post-US midterms and of the ironies that came from the center-left after the exit of Tajani who had said he had never been 'Trumpian'.

Which leads to Bonaccini's slip. The same Foreign Minister, moreover, returned in an interview to explain the - real - photo that had portrayed him with the Maga hat in his hand months ago, when he participated as an "observer" at the Board of Peace wanted by Donald Trump. "They gave me that red hat, but I left it on the table. Never brought to Italy, much less never worn", specified the FI leader. Who today says he is "sorry" that "in these moments of hybrid war there are people like the president of the Democratic Party who use the same systems, that is, false news, to attack me".

In addition to an "appeal to all political forces" to avoid certain methods, Tajani also launches a jab at the Democratic Party: "Evidently - he says - the culture of misinformation has not emerged from his political conviction". Furthermore, all the big names in Forza Italia, in addition to the removal of the photo, asked for an apology from Bonaccini, "which never arrived", they underlined in the evening. In fact, the dem president limited himself to deleting the post, explaining that it was "an ironic 'meme' about Antonio Tajani wearing the Maga hat, which he had held in his hand on public occasions, as widely documented".