- Patricia Reichman, 59, faced scrutiny over a digitally enhanced campaign photo
- The altered photo made Reichman appear significantly younger than her official image
- Reichman said she used an online tool to improve a low-resolution newspaper photo
A 59-year-old Dutch politician is facing public scrutiny after her campaign photograph appeared heavily digitally altered, causing her to look significantly younger than in her official picture. According to a report in local news website AD, Patricia Reichman, 59, was elected to the Blijdorp-Bergpolder-Liskwartier district council last week but soon drew attention when voters noticed a striking difference between two of her photos. One image published in a local newspaper made her appear significantly younger than the one listed on the official municipal candidate roster.
However, Reichman insisted both images are indeed hers. She said the newspaper image was low in resolution, prompting her to use an online tool to improve its quality. Speaking to AD, Reichman explained that she generally appears younger than her age and attributed the variation in her official image to medication she has been taking.
"That photo in the neighbourhood paper had too low a resolution, so I ran it through an online program to increase the pixels. It's simply my photo - that really is me. At the moment I look a bit different, but that's because of medication. That will be finished soon," she said.
Reichman also remarked that people often mistake her for her son's girlfriend because of her youthful looks. "I understand your question; I look much younger in that one photo. But normally I look very young for my age too. When I'm out with my son, people think I'm his girlfriend. I hear very often that I look very young for my age," she added.
The incident sparked amusement on social media, with many pointing out the significant contrast between the enhanced photo and her actual appearance.
One user wrote, "People should not be able to advertise their candidacy without a legitimate photo of themselves. Ageism and sexism suck and disproportionately hurt women, but it should be important to be truthful to the voters, and the other candidates should've called this out.
Another said, "She's already gaslighting everyone like a true politician."
"What a swindler! Imagine their confusion and disappointment when they finally met their new councilwoman face to face! Is there a return clause?" stated a third, while a fourth added, "Already caught lying before even taking office, impressive."
