Dutch MPs' radical comments reverberate on social media, study finds

Radical statements by members of parliament, whether made in the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of the Dutch parliament, or elsewhere, quickly gain traction on social media. A study from Utrecht University shows that the term 'tribunals' has been tweeted about approximately 38,000 times since FVD member Pepijn van Houwelingen threatened D66 MP Sjoerd Sjoerdsma with it in 2021.

The word 'witch,' used by PVV leader Geert Wilders to describe D66 leader Sigrid Kaag, has been circulated around 34,000 times on the platform X. These tweets are not harmless; they drive politicians out of politics, the researchers claimed.

Intimidating language towards politicians is rapidly becoming more commonplace, the scholars noted, and is sometimes even spread by politicians themselves. The atmosphere for politicians is becoming "increasingly intimidating". After the initial shock, such terms become "a permanent part of the language used towards politicians."

The term 'tribunals' was first used as a threatening reference to a 'people's tribunal' during a parliamentary debate in 2021. "However, the research shows that certain Telegram groups had long been discussing 'tribunals' with this connotation," the study found.

Following its mention in parliament, 'tribunals' became "a part of the rhetoric on X, where people often express their dissatisfaction with government policy using the hashtag #tribunalen," the researchers observed.

In total, they analyzed nearly 50 million messages about Dutch politics. CDA party leader Henri Bontenbal, commenting on X (formerly Twitter), called it "serious and concerning" that the research demonstrates how the "hardening of the political debate" is spilling over into society through social media. "As the Tweede Kamer, we need to look at ourselves and set clearer boundaries against this escalation," Bontenbal stated.