Italian court orders League deputy to pay €15,000 damages to Museo Egizio over discriminatory video

In January 2018, the Museo Egizio in Turin launched an initiative offering free entry to Arabic-speaking couples to boost visitor numbers. This sparked protests from right-wing parties Lega and Fratelli d'Italia, who deemed it discriminatory against Italians. Giorgia Meloni, then a candidate for the March 2018 elections, participated in a sit-in outside the museum, calling it "reverse discrimination." Andrea Crippa, a League deputy and vice-secretary, posted a video on social media where he pretended to call the museum to inquire about the promotion, criticizing it as "reverse discrimination." The video allegedly fueled offensive and racist messages against the museum. In April 2020, a court ordered Crippa to pay €15,000 in damages and remove the video. However, on June 22, 2021, the Turin Court of Appeal overturned the ruling, acquitting Crippa on the grounds that he had legitimately exercised his right to political criticism, without using offensive language or distorting facts. The appellate court cited constitutional principles protecting political critique and noted that the museum's criminal complaint had been dismissed earlier by a preliminary investigations judge.