Italy. Lawsuits between journalists. Ossigeno Legal Aid offers assistance to Federico Boni

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Sued for a tweet criticising those who did not participate in a strike called by the state broadcasters’ in-house journalists’ union, USIGRAI in 2024

OSSIGENO, October 3, 2025 – The Ossigeno Legal Aid Desk, which operates in collaboration with Media Defence, has decided to defend in court at its own expense the freelance journalist Federico Boni, 43. He is being sued by two of his fellow journalists who deemed defamatory the content of a tweet published on his X profile on May 6^th, 2024, expressing his opinion on those who did not participate in the strike called by the RAI journalists’ union. Lawyer Andrea Di Pietro has been appointed to defend Federico Boni.

THE FACTS – That day, a national strike of RAI journalists, called by the USIGRAI union, took place. The day of protest aimed to disrupt RAI’s news broadcasts to publicly denounce the Meloni government’s interference in the management of the public radio and television news service. That day, despite the large turnout for the strike, many RAI news programs aired regularly, unlike in the past when a strike forced newscasts to be replaced with short news bulletins read by a journalist authorised by the union to work while still participating in the strike. This gave viewers a clear understanding of the protest’s impact.

THE EVENING TV NEWS – Seeing that the evening news program on Channel 1 was airing regularly, Federico Boni posted on social media that day with the following, comment: “So all the journalists seen today on Tg1 and Tg2 are subservient to the Meloni government. Good to know. A mass coming out…” He accompanied the text with a still image from the 8:30 PM TG1 newscast, featuring a shot of the journalist who was presenting at the time. That post prompted the journalist depicted in the image and a colleague to believe they had been personally insulted and to respond with a defamation lawsuit against Federico Boni.

THE TRIAL – Consequently, the Postal Police, social media section, under the supervision of the competent Prosecutor’s Office, opened an investigation into the author of the post. On May 20^th, 2025, Federico Boni was questioned by investigators. He admitted to authoring the tweet and explained that he had no intention of offending the plaintiff or targeting any individual in particular. He wanted to make a political comment, legitimately exercising the right to criticise an unusual event of public relevance: the routine broadcast of RAI news programs during a national strike by RAI-employed journalists. Federico Boni underlined that his statement must be connected to the discussions that were taking place on social media that day, regarding the failure to black out the news following the strike, a fact which had sparked evaluations, criticism, and statements from many political figures.

Ossigeno per l’Informazione considered the developments in this legal case worthy of attention because it primarily concerns the ways in which public debate develops among journalists and, more generally, calls into question the possibility of exercising freedom of expression and the right to criticise without being prosecuted for one’s opinions. The trial of Federico Boni will offer the opportunity to re-establish the true boundary between political criticism and defamation, particularly when the criticism concerns journalists working for public service broadcasters. The law and jurisprudence consider everyone’s right to express their opinions to be very broad, in order to ensure free public debate.

THE ISSUE – In Ossigeno’s opinion, the contested phrase falls fully within the constitutional scope of freedom of expression and criticism. While the right to sue remains in place for the most serious and controversial cases, matters like this should be resolved through discussion, with replies and requests for interpretation and clarification, without disrupting and clogging up the justice system. Based on its experience with the progress of such lawsuits, Ossigeno foresees that the trial will confirm the established principle that political criticism can be harsh and scathing without constituting a personal offence. The trial against Federico Boni, therefore, goes beyond the dispute between the people involved; it concerns the broader context of tensions between political power, information, and the right to criticism. It could still be concluded even before it begins, with a clarification between the parties, offering everyone an example of how these matters can be resolved quickly and to mutual satisfaction. ASP