A Dutch politician has sparked a row by using a digitally enhanced picture during her election campaign. Patricia Reichman, 59, was elected to the Blijdorp-Bergpolder-Liskwartier district council last week. However, voters soon realised that she looked much younger and very different in a photograph published in a local newspaper as compared to her picture in the official municipal list of candidates.
The two pictures seem to bear little resemblance to each other, yet Reichman claims that both depict her.
Dutch politician on picture row
The Dutch politician admitted to digitally enhancing her photograph. According to a report in local news website AD, Reichman said that she looks much younger than her 59 years in reality, and her electoral roll picture was different because of medication she’s been taking.
“That photo in the local newspaper had too low a resolution, so I ran it through an online program to increase the pixels," she said. "It is simply my photo; that really is me.
“At the moment I look a bit different, but that is due to medication. That will be finished soon,” she claimed.
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{{/usCountry}}(Also read: Indian man working in the Netherlands shares what surprised him most: ‘Your savings grow much faster’)
{{/usCountry}}The 59-year-old went on to say that she is often mistaken for her son’s girlfriend because of how young she looks.
“I understand your question; I look much younger in that one photo. But normally I look very young for my age too. When I’m out with my son, people think I’m his girlfriend. I hear very often that I look very young for my age,” she said.
The contrast between her two pictures has sparked amusement online.
“The funniest thing about boomers using AI is they think no one can notice and they're tricking everyone,” wrote one person on X.
“There's always a reasonable explanation for everything, she's a natural politician,” another quipped.
“Lol, that’s not even the same eye colour,” a user pointed out. “Sure, it's the "medication" that makes her like 59 in real life. Not the fact that she is 59,” another added.