Dutch far-right party pays damages to court artist after AI image manipulation

A Dutch far-right political party has been ordered to pay damages to a court artist after it digitally altered one of her drawings to make the subjects appear more menacing. The Party for Freedom (PVV), led by Geert Wilders, used a manipulated image in a video posted on social media.

Petra Urban, a court artist with 19 years of experience, was shocked to find her drawing of two Syrian brothers, who were jailed for the murder of their sister, had been altered. The PVV's Noord-Brabant regional branch used the reworked image in a video shared on Instagram and Facebook.

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A Dutch court artist has received damages after an MP for the far-right Party for Freedom (PVV) used one of her drawings without permission and manipulated it with AI to make the subjects look more menacing.

Urban discovered the unauthorized use of her work and the subsequent manipulation, which aimed to make the brothers look more threatening. The legal action resulted in the party paying damages to the artist, highlighting concerns over the misuse of artwork and digital manipulation by political groups.

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Petra Urban, a court artist for 19 years, was shocked to discover a drawing she had made last year of two Syrian brothers jailed for the murder of their sister had been reworked and used in a video on Instagram and Facebook by the party’s Noord-Brabant region.