Online trolls cited by police for abusing Italian synchronised swimmer

12 online trolls are cited by police for vile abuse when Italian synchronised swimming star, 29, posted upside-down bikini picture showing medals hanging from her legs

• Linda Cerruti shared the Instagram post after the 2022 European championships
• She received an outpouring of support but also ‘thousands’ of sexist comments
• Authorities in her native Savona have cited 12 users for aggravated defamation

Italian police have cited 12 social media users for aggravated defamation after a synchronised swimmer complained she received sexist abuse for an image she posted on social media.

Linda Cerruti, 29, displayed considerable athleticism in an August 2022 Instagram post in which she performed a headstand and moved into the splits, dangling each of her eight European Championship medals from her legs. 

The post received more than 110,000 likes and incurred hundreds of messages of support, but the bikini-clad Cerruti lodged a formal complaint to police in her home town of Savona near Genoa when she discovered several of the comments were vulgar and sexist in nature.

After weeks of investigations by the Cyber ​​Security Operations Centre of Genoa, Savona police identified 12 individuals who had authored ‘blatantly defamatory and sexist posts’, according to Italy’s ANSA news agency. 

Cerruti’s audacious beachside pose attracted ‘thousands’ of leering, ‘sexist’ comments, she said

Cerruti (left) poses with a gold medal alongside Constanza Ferro (right) in Rome

Among the 12 online trolls reported by police to judicial authorities were a 50-year-old user from Rome, one in Venice, a pair of pensioners from from Lombardy, a 40-year-old civil servant residing in Friuli Venezia Giulia and a 30-year-old from Sardinia, according to Italian outlet Il Secolo XIX.

In a follow-up Instagram post, Cerruti screenshotted some of the worst offenders

Italian law sees instances of online abuse fall under the charge of defamation, which is recognised as ‘aggravated’ because the offence is carried out by a means of publicity. 

It is unclear to what extent the 12 individuals cited for aggravated defamation will be punished, though Italian law decrees those found guilty can receive a fine of one hundred euros up to several thousands, based on the perceived severity of the offence. 

Serious defamation can also result in prison sentences, but these are reserved for the most egregious cases. 

In her original Instagram post which showed her hard-won medals and her impressive physical capabilities, Cerruti proudly wrote: ‘I am satisfied – I sacrificed a lot for this.

‘For years I have been studying during the night to be able to train during the day. That is radical, but it is a life that has already given me many wonderful experiences!’

But some social media users ignored her success and instead posted a flurry of sexist remarks disregarding Cerruti’s achievements and objectifying her.

In a follow-up post, Cerruti screenshotted some of the worst offenders and castigated the writers behind the leering comments.

Cerruti has amassed a considerable following on Instagram with more than 60,000 subscribers 

 

She wrote: ‘Two days ago I shared a photo taken on the beach where I often go, where I dreamed my first dreams and which also has a strong symbolic value for me. 

‘The photo shows me in an artistic pose, typical of my sport, along with the eight medals won in what is the best European Championship of my career.

‘But I am shocked and disgusted by the hundreds, probably thousands, of misguided, sexist and vulgar comments I have received since then.

‘After more than 20 years of training and sacrifice, I find it embarrassing to say the least and it really hurts to read all this, the jokes people make to sexualise my body. Is a butt and two legs really the only things that exist and the most important topics to talk about?’

Cerruti has not yet given a statement in regard to the news that some of her trolls have been rooted out, but shared several Italian media articles on the subject via social media where she received many messages of support.

‘Thank you very much for reporting these people, words alone are not enough against keyboard warriors and troglodytes of various kinds. They’re people that unfortunately don’t even realise the severity of a verbal assault,’ one user wrote.

Another added: ‘Hello champion, you have all my solidarity against these keyboard warriors who are not real men, they are the scum of our society… you are great athletes who make us dream and rejoice.’

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