A TV prank which appeared to expose drug use by Italian MPs was rapped Tuesday.
Two members of cult show Le Iene were fined for invasion of privacy.
Italy's top court rejected the show's plea that the alleged drug takers would have had their faces and voices masked.
The Cassation Court said the pair were guilty of ''deceitful and fraudulent'' behaviour by secretly testing 50 MPs in 2006.
The sneak tests showed that one in three had apparently taken cannabis and cocaine in the preceding 36 hours.
The prank never aired because of protests by MPs.
But the uproar sparked by the case led to public testings in front of parliament in which MPs showed they were drug-free.
Le Iene, which goes out on Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi's network, pulled off the stunt by pretending to interview the parliamentarians about the budget.
As a reporter engaged MPs in conversation, a fake make-up artist secretly carried out drug-wipe tests on their foreheads.
The sweat collected on the wipe was then tested for drugs in a method which the show claimed was foolproof.
Le Iene is one of Italy's most popular shows, with a massive following among young people.
Shown on Berlusconi's Italia Uno channel since 1996, it is a comedy and satire show alternating sketches with sting operations that regularly expose scandals.
Le Iene (literally, The Hyenas) was the Italian name of Quentin Tarantino's 1992 gangster classic Reservoir Dogs.
The show's presenters wear the trademark black suits, white shirts and black ties popularised by the Italian-American director's breakthrough hit.
