Salvatore Gaziano and Roberto Nicastro deepfake video
The Court of La Spezia ordered Meta to remove fraudulent deepfake advertisements featuring financial adviser Salvatore Gaziano and banker Roberto Nicastro
- Reported date
- Oct 30, 2026
- Target
- Salvatore Gaziano and Roberto Nicastro
The exact incident date was not established. This entry is dated by its source report.
Financial adviser Salvatore Gaziano and Banca Aidexa chairman Roberto Nicastro were targeted by unauthorized deepfake video advertisements promoting fraudulent investment opportunities. The Court of La Spezia issued an urgent order requiring Meta Platforms Ireland to remove the deceptive content and implement proactive filtering measures to prevent future republication.
What happened
Fraudulent actors utilized artificial intelligence to create deepfake videos featuring the likeness, voice, and biometric data of Salvatore Gaziano and Roberto Nicastro. These videos were disseminated as advertisements across Meta-owned platforms, including Facebook and WhatsApp, falsely depicting the professionals as promoters of specific investment tools or groups.
Prior to the court intervention, the victims reported that Meta often failed to act on removal requests, frequently claiming that the content did not violate platform rules or that the company could not intervene in paid advertisements. Represented by lawyer Marisa Marraffino, Gaziano successfully lodged an urgent appeal. Judge Gabriele Romano ruled that Meta must immediately cease the dissemination of any content using Gaziano’s name, image, or cloned voice. Furthermore, the court mandated the deactivation of associated WhatsApp groups and telephone numbers promoted in the scams.
In a significant legal development, the court order also imposed an obligation on Meta to implement adequate filtering systems to block the future republication of such unauthorized content. A follow-up hearing is scheduled for December 10 to confirm the measures issued in the initial order.