In January 2026, a 15-second video circulated online purportedly showing a blunder on Italian TV (archived, archived) involving the program using an image from the American mobster film "
The footage spread as protests, sparked by economic pressure against the Iranian government, unfolded across the country in late December 2025 and into the start of 2026.
One X user who shared the clip wrote: "Italian TV presents an image from the 1990 mobster movie 'Goodfellas' as a genuine image of an Iranian family before the Islamic Revolution."
In short, the footage was authentic. It aired on Agorà Extra, a news and politics program produced by Italian state TV broadcaster RAI (Radiotelevisione Italiana), on Jan. 14, 2026 (with the in-question incident appearing at approximately 1:27:00). Therefore, we have rated this claim true.
(raiplay.it)
The presenter, Marco Carrara, said (translation confirmed by native Italian speaker):
... protested against the Regime, photos were shared of their previously "normal" life, and then, more with this trend, nostalgic photos were shared of their families before the arrival of the Regime to make us understand. This guy says, "This is my family in 1977..."
Carrara's segment involved him using an X post (archived) to try to highlight what someone's family looked like prior to the Islamic Revolution.
The X post (archived) pictured was posted on Jan. 12, 2026, and had gained more than 1.7 million views, as of this writing. It read: "my family in Iran (1977) before the islamic revolution."
However, the image of the so-called Iranian family actually depicted the cast of 1990 film "Goodfellas" (from left to right: Lorraine Bracco, Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro, Dominique DeVito and Julie Garfield). IMDb images of the film (archived) listed the members of the cast.
Snopes contacted the Italian TV station and the presenter, Carrara, for comment on the gaffe. We will update this article if either of them respond.
The comments below the X post that Agorà Extra included in its show were flooded with similar memes humorously suggesting that pictures showing characters from popular mobster shows and films were actually Iranians from before the 1979 Islamic Revolution; and such memes are not new.
Posts from at least 2022 (archived) — if not earlier — typically depict women in revealing clothing or without hijabs, attending university, studying or otherwise showing people engaging in activities associated with Iran's pre-revolution culture as a play on how Western governments and media depict historic Iran.
All available evidence indicated that the Agorà Extra presenter shared the photo unironically, meaning he did not share it with its intended humor, but rather claimed it genuinely depicted an image of an Iranian family before the Islamic Revolution.