Amersfoort man arrested for making deepfake porn of TV host Welmoed Sijtsma

The police arrested a 38-year-old man from Amersfoort for making a deepfake porn video of TV presenter and journalist Welmoed Sijtsma. The police questioned the man and then released him from custody, but he remains a suspect, the Amsterdam Public Prosecution Service (OM) confirmed to AD.

According to the OM, the man used footage of the TV presenter to create a pornographic video using deepfake technology. He placed Sjitsma’s head on the body of a porn actress.

Sjitsma, 32, became aware of the fake porn video of her circulating online last year. She decided to make a four-part docuseries about it for broadcaster WNL. The last episode of Welmoed en de sexfakes will air on Thursday evening.

Deepfake technology and its use in this way is also a topic of discussion in politics. D66 parliamentarian Hanneke van der Werf has asked parliamentary questions about it. Anne Kuik (CDA) wants to debate what can be done against these practices. She asked for the topic to be added to the budget debate for the Ministry of Justice and Security.