Khaberni - Dutch politician Patricia Reichman, age 60, was ousted from her party "Leefbaar Rotterdam" because she excessively edited her campaign photos using artificial intelligence.
Reichman distributed promotional images that depicted her as in her twenties, making it difficult to recognize her.
Following the spread of the images, the Dutch press and media, including "Algemeen Dagblad", questioned the politician about this manipulation.
Controversial defense
However, Reichman, in a controversial defense, denied the manipulation, claiming the photo reflected her reality, and that her current older appearance was due to medication, and that she would return to her youthful look after ending the treatment.
Yet, the party expelled her, considering her act beyond the bounds of political credibility.
The local Rotterdam party released a statement saying: "It is clear that the photo was intensively edited with artificial intelligence and does not reflect reality. We regret what happened.. We asked the candidate to resign her seat and return it to the party, but the request was not complied with. Therefore, as a board, we feel compelled to distance ourselves from this candidate".
Reichman was elected last March to represent the Blijdorp-Bergpolder-Liskwartier area, but the editing of her photos sparked significant controversy, leading the party to issue a decision to separate her, considering her act in violation of election campaign transparency standards.
This comes at a time when social media platforms have recently seen widespread distribution of fake videos or images produced or manipulated through artificial intelligence technologies, raising significant concerns about digital misinformation and the difficulty in distinguishing between real and fabricated content.
