Italian Prime Minister Can't Take A Height Joke, Fines Journalist

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Italian journalist Giulia Cortese has been fined over $5,000 for a tweet in which she mocked the height of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

We're really fining people thousands of dollars for a tweet about a political figure's height these days, Italy? I thought that kind of stuff only happened in North Korea, or China where President Xi Jinping has fined people and banned all references to Winnie the Pooh after people said they looked alike. (True story.)

JOURNALIST FINED THOUSANDS OVER HEIGHT COMMENT

Both Prime Minister Meloni and Cortese had been going back and forth with each other throughout the past couple of years as she began her ascent up the political ranks of the ‘Brothers of Italy’ (Fdl) party. At one point, Cortese called out Meloni for her, let's just say, shortcomings, when she tweeted, "You don't scare me, Giorgia Meloni. After all, you're only 1.2 meters (4 feet) tall. I can't even see you." 

It appears Meloni never forgot about that harmless joke, because soon after she was sworn into power, the Prime Minister launched a legal case against Cortese, who has now been ordered to pay 5,000 euros, or $5,465 U.S. dollars. In response, Cortese tweeted that Italy is becoming a "Banana Republic," and that it has "a serious problem with freedom of expression and journalistic dissent."

It's the latest anti-free speech crackdown the Italian Prime Minister has launched against journalists. Last year she filed a lawsuit against best-selling author Roberto Saviano in which he was ordered to pay 1,000 euros after he mocked the Prime Minister during a television interview over her hardline stance on illegal immigration.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni with U.S. President Joe Biden. . (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

IMAGINE IF THIS HAPPENED HERE?

For as much inner turmoil as the United States has and the nonstop bashing that America gets, it's always important to remember that we are still the best country in the world and that is specifically because of the rights and freedoms that the Constitution grants us. 

Imagine if journalists or citizens were fined for their disparaging or comedic tweets about Biden or Trump? We'd all be screwed!