Sexist Italian image-sharing website forced to shut after political outcry

Leading Italian politicians spoke out against the site, which blamed the "toxic" behaviour of its users.

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The explicit site called Phica, a play on the Italian slang for vagina, now displays a message saying it has shut down "with great regret" due to the "toxic behaviour" of some users.

Meloni herself has said she is "disgusted" by the site and called for those responsible to be punished "with the utmost firmness".

The removal of Phica comes days after celebrity figures led a wave of public anger against an Italian Facebook group called Mia Moglie (My Wife), where thousands of men had been swapping intimate images of their partners apparently without their knowledge.

Those pictures were posted with explicit or even violent comments, with users said to include former politicians, businessmen and police officers.