Silvia Sacchi is an expert journalist, a well -known face of the main Italian television networks. A professional accustomed to direct, interviews and constant pressure of the trade, but what happened to her in recent days has nothing to do with the ordinary administration of journalistic work: her face, her voice and her work have been manipulated to spread disinformation. Not any, but the most dangerous. There is talk of deepfakes, vaccines and conspiracy. A true violation of identity and image.

What the offending video shows us

In the video published on the net, it shows what has all the appearance of a normal journalistic transmission. Let’s see Silvia Sacchi in the SkyTg24 study while introducing Professor Silvio Garattini, doctor and founder of the Mario Negri Institute. But just listen to a few seconds to understand that something doesn’t come back. The words that the journalist and the pharmacologist pronounce in the video, with a cloned voice and reconstructed labial, are a concentrate of non-vax propaganda: there is talk of anti-Covid vaccines that would cause “dangerous clots in the blood”, a well-known toxic narrative in the circuit of conspiracy disinformation.

The clots buffalo after vaccines

The images of the alleged “clot” – another scenographic element of the video – are not taken from scientific data or by official sources. They are, in reality, photographs of an American embalmer, Richard Hirschman, a figure already known in the galaxy of disinformation that he claims to have found “mysterious threads” in the bodies of people who died after vaccination. A hoax that returns cyclically and that this time needed the credible face of a journalist to look true.

“I can protect myself but many people don’t”

Silvia Sacchi in TODAY.IT

“It is the first time that such a thing has happened to me,” says Silvia Sacchi in Toray.it. There is no anger in her words, but the awareness that what happened to her is an alarm signal not to be underestimated.

“I feel privileged,” he explains. “I know how these mechanisms work and I have not been afraid, because I have the tools to react. I know how much my job is worth, and I know how to defend myself, but my first thought has gone to those who do not have this possibility. Because not everyone has the strength, a network or a public reputation to say: that is not me! And this makes manipulation even more unjust”.

The fake news on the “miraculous preparation” anti-Vaccini: “I felt violated”

Image theft is not only personal damage, but a new weapon in the hands of those who want to discredit science, institutions and journalism.

“When it comes to public figures, at least it is possible to make debunking, intervene, to be heard, but when the victim is a common person, the manipulated content can continue to circulate undisturbed, with devastating effects,” Sacchi tells me.

How we can defend ourselves

The first action, just as the Sacchi journalist did, is to report any manipulated content. “I immediately warned the order of the journalists of the Marche and the national order. Soon I will also go to the postal police,” he tells me.

We have reached a point where it is increasingly difficult to distinguish between reality and fiction, between journalism and manipulation, but we must react. With legal tools, with reporting, with the collaboration between citizens and institutions. And with a great alliance between those who make information seriously. This is where the battle of information is played in 2025. No more (only) on the contents, but on the appearance. No longer on data, but on the faces. The face of a journalist becomes a terrain of clash and we, that we know that face, we have a duty to recognize it even when it is deformed. It is essential to provide the reader with the tools necessary to defend themselves from this type of disinformation.

Short guide to recognize and fight a deepfake

To defend yourself from this type of manipulation, you have to learn to recognize some signs. A deepfake often presents unnatural movements of the face: the lip can be blown, the fixed eyes or the rigid facial expressions. The audio can be slightly out of synchronization or have a robotic shade. To these visual and sound signals are added inconsistencies in the light and shadows, often inconsistent with the scene, and an anomalous context, where phrases outside tone are inserted in environments or situations that do not return.

There may be mistakes in the texts of the video; In this case, the name of Professor Silvio Garattini has become “Silvio Garattin”. Finally, attention to too sensational content: if something seems too shocking to be true, it probably is not.

What to do if you suspect a deepfake?

Never share a suspicious content: you must always check the source and look for confirmation on reliable newspapers. An instrument can be to do an inverse image or video search with tools such as Google Images. If you realize that a content is false or manipulated, the advice is to report it immediately. When you are the victims or have concrete tests of manipulation, contact the postal police and informed (if you have it) your professional order and your company. Awareness, collaboration and a network of solid alliances is needed to unmask disinformation.

Those who create these contents know exactly what he does. Hitting vaccines means hitting science. Hit a journalist means hitting information. Scrying a well -known face means questioning reality itself. Silvia Sacchi has been the victim of a digital theft, but we are all in the sights: journalists, health workers and citizens. Defending and defending others from hoaxes and fake news is no longer an option: today it has become a precise moral obligation.

How to defend ourselves from deepfake