No, Italian prime minister did not announce 'Family Pride Month' | Fact check

Isabella Fertel, USA TODAY
·4 min read
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The claim: Italy's prime minister created a 'Family Pride Month' in opposition to LGBTQ+ Pride Month

A June 4 Instagram video (direct link, archive link) features images of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and shows a man talking about a purported development in Italy.

“Italy’s Prime Minister has announced ‘Family Pride Month’ as a counter to ‘normal’ Pride Month,” reads the video's caption. “Family Pride Month will now celebrate mothers, fathers and the children they raise instead of, you know.”

The post garnered more than 37,000 likes in two days. Other versions of the post were shared on Twitter.

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Our rating: False

There is no evidence Meloni has announced a "Famiy Pride Month." Both LGBTQ+ advocates and anti-abortion groups say no such announcement has occurred.

Italy’s prime minister did not announce ‘Family Pride Month’ to oppose LGBTQ+ Pride in June

Contrary to the post's claims, there is no announcement of a “Family Pride Month” on Italy's government website or on any of Meloni’s official social media accounts.

Gabriele Magni, a political science professor and founding director of the LGBTQ+ Politics Research Initiative at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, told USA TODAY that Meloni and other Italian politicians have not made such an announcement.

Vincenzo Branà, a spokesperson for the Bologna-based LGBTQ+ advocacy organization Arcigay, also told the Associated Press no such month had been announced.

Magni pointed out that some of the posts sharing the claim show videos from previous marches for the "Manifestazione per la Vita" (National Demonstration for Life) organized by the anti-abortion and anti-LGBTQ+ Family Day Association, whose logos are visible in the footage.

Manifestazione per la Vita and Family Day did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

But Jacopo Coghe, a spokesperson for the Rome-based anti-abortion group Pro Vita & Famiglia, previously told the Associated Press the claim of a "Family Pride Month" is “fake news.”

“There has been no such announcement by the government and, as far as we know, there has been no proposal either,” Coghe said. “It is a falsehood that comes straight from abroad.”

USA TODAY could not find any coverage of the purported announcement from Italian and international news outlets.

Creating a “Family Prime Month” to oppose LGBTQ+ Pride is not something the group is attempting to do, Coghe said.

Meloni and her political allies have attended marches for the Family Day Association in the past, said Magni, who said that could be the source of some online confusion.

“These marches have been both pro-life and anti-LGBTQ rights,” Magni said in an email. “They have focused on opposing abortion, surrogacy especially for same-sex couples, adoptions for same-sex couples, and same-sex marriage – all under the justification to defend the traditional family and oppose ‘gender ideology.’"

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Meloni notably vowed to oppose what she called "gender ideology” and the “LGBT lobby” when she became prime minister in 2022.

Several Pride events are scheduled across the country throughout the month of June.

Meloni's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The social media users who shared the post for comment did not provide any evidence for their claim.

The Associated Press and Lead Stories also debunked this claim.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: False claim Italian PM announced 'Family Pride Month' | Fact check