Two PVV parliamentarians anonymously posting AI images of Frans Timmermans online
Two PVV parliamentarians posted AI-generated images of GroenLinks-PvdA leader Frans Timmermans on a popular Facebook page that they secretly manage. The images received hundreds of responses, including dozens of death threats against Timmermans, the Volkskrant reports.
The images appeared on the Facebook group “Wij doen GEEN aangifte tegen Geert Wilders,” which translates to “We are NOT filing charges against Geert Wilders.” According to the Volkskrant, the self-proclaimed fan account is secretly managed by two PVV MPs - Maike Boon and Patrick Crijns.
Boon and Crijns posted hundreds of AI-generated images on the Facebook page, which has 130,000 followers, mostly along the theme of white people being threatened in some way by people of color. The page’s reach is extensive, with over 500,000 daily visits. In October, the page had an even larger reach than Wilders’ own, measured by visitor interactions.
The two PVV parliamentarians posted multiple pictures featuring Timmermans. On July 24, they posted an image showing Timmermans handcuffed between two grim-looking police officers. The image was shared 283 times, liked 803 times, and received 374 comments, including at least 10 death threats. “Put a rope around his neck and let him swing,” one read. Another: “Cut off his head for fraud and treason!” And: “Hang that pathetic bastard.”
On June 29, they posted an Obama-style election poster of Timmermans with the caption “Corrupt,” translated from Dutch. It received 465 comments, including “RIP filthy, corrupt, crook, better today than tomorrow. And: “I hope someone shoots him, that filthy, good-for-nothing.”
On September 17, they posted a cartoon of Timmermans stealing money from a white man and giving it to two Syrians. It received 242 comments, including “That filthy, dirty con man belongs underground.” And: “There is only one way to stop this.”
Paul Bovend’Eert, an emeritus professor of constitutional law, told the Volkskrant that threats and hate speech are inextricably linked to social media. But the fact that two parliamentarians are distributing fake photos of a colleague and provoking dozens of death threats against him is a “scandalous low point” in the Netherlands’ parliamentary democracy. “This concerns the authority of the entire parliament. If you have people who behave so scandalously toward a colleague, because that’s what Timmermans is, then that truly damages the dignity and the standing of the lower house of parliament,” he said.
According to the professor, this behavior shows that the Netherlands needs a code of conduct stipulating that parliamentarians need to treat each other with respect. “This shows that such a code is necessary. You can’t leave this to political parties themselves. If people cross the line in this way, parliament should be able to call them to account.”
Bovend’Eert also called it incomprehensible that Wilders, who himself has been under protection for 21 years due to death threats, allows this behavior from his parliamentarians.
The two MPs in question did not respond to the Volkskrant’s questions, though they did take their Facebook page offline within hours of the newspaper contacting them on Friday. Wilders, who previously posted their AI images on his own X account, also did not respond.
GroenLinks-PvdA told the newspaper that the party would file charges of defamation “against the administrators of this page” and report the death threats written under the posts. “Politicians are increasingly being threatened, as we’ve seen during this campaign,” GroenLinks-PvdA said. Timmermans was recently harassed at close range on an Amsterdam terrace. “That is a threat to democracy. Pages like this contribute to that.”
