OMM Newsroom
Queen Mathilde of Belgium, her daughter Crown Princess Elisabeth and several other prominent Belgian women have been targeted by sexually explicit images generated with artificial intelligence, Anadolu Agency reported.
The fabricated images, which depict the women naked, have circulated on social media platforms in recent days, the Belgian newspaper Le Soir reported on Monday. The targets reportedly also include the wives of politicians and government officials, as well as prominent female politicians.
An investigation by several Belgian news outlets identified Flemish Vice-Minister-President Melissa Depraetere and former Belgian Defense Minister Ludivine Dedonder among those targeted.
“As disgusting as it is, very little surprises me anymore,” Depraetere said. She added that people needed to understand that creating and distributing such images was unacceptable and could destroy lives.
Dedonder said she intended to file a legal complaint over the fabricated images. The Belgian Royal Palace confirmed that action had been taken to have images depicting the queen and crown princess removed from the internet.
The case has renewed attention to AI-generated or manipulated images that make real people appear naked or engaged in sexual activity without their consent. Civil society organisations and digital rights advocates have repeatedly warned that AI-generated sexual abuse disproportionately affects women and girls, with consequences extending beyond individual privacy violations.
The European Union is preparing stricter measures against AI applications that generate non-consensual intimate images. Under amendments to the EU Artificial Intelligence Act, systems designed to generate or manipulate realistic intimate images of identifiable people without their explicit consent are set to be prohibited.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has also been cited as an example of the risks posed by manipulated images and videos. In 2024, she sought 100,000 euros in damages in a case involving two men accused of producing and distributing pornographic deepfake videos featuring her face.
Meloni also initiated a process to trademark her voice through the European Union Intellectual Property Office in an effort to protect her identity against AI-generated impersonations.
