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Low reported severity Internal Action

Belgium: a fake Facebook account posing as Crown Princess Elisabeth posts AI-generated photos and videos of her, including a suggestive video that went viral; the Royal Palace says it took the necessary measures

Belgian media reported on 27 and 28 March 2026 that a Facebook account presenting itself as the official account of Crown Princess Elisabeth, with more than 28,000 followers, had for months posted photos and videos of her, many of them generated with artificial intelligence. One suggestive AI video showing her dancing in a prison cell went viral, drew more than 1,000 likes and caused public indignation. The Royal Palace deplored the spread of such AI-generated content, called it unfortunately very frequent and said it had taken the necessary measures in this case; La Libre reported that the account appeared to have disappeared.

AI system
Unidentified image and video tool
Occurred
Event date unknown
Reported
27 March 2026
Event location
Unknown
What the AI did
Depicted or impersonated the person
Reported harm
Reputational Harm
Whose AI use
Someone else’s AI use
Setting
Privacy · Everyday life
Evidence
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 4 sources, 2 underlying accounts
4 claims: 4 reported. 4 open questions
People reported harmed
1 person

AI system as recorded: Unnamed generative-AI tool used to make photos and videos of the princess posted by a fake Facebook account (per RTL Info via RTBF, and VRT NWS)

What Happened

RTBF (27 March 2026, relaying an RTL Info article) reports a Facebook account presenting itself as Princess Elisabeth's official account, followed by more than 28,000 people, that regularly published photos and videos of her, a large part of them generated with artificial intelligence. Besides harmless scenes, the account posted more suggestive content that RTBF says could damage her image, including a video of her dancing in a prison cell that went viral with more than 1,200 likes. VRT NWS (28 March) describes dozens of AI photos and deepfake videos posted over recent months, with the prison video viewed more than 14,000 times, and says it caused much indignation; La Libre gives more than 1,100 likes and says the video alarmed several users. RTBF notes that Belgium has no law explicitly against deepfakes but that image rights apply when the person is recognisable, as here; an information-technology lawyer quoted by RTL said the video combined considerable realism with a clear intent to link it to a specific person, and RTBF adds that the account holder and Facebook could be liable. The Palace told RTL it deplores the mass spread of AI-generated content of this kind, which it called unfortunately very frequent, and said it had taken the necessary measures. VRT NWS recalls an earlier AI-made photo, published in September 2025 by an Instagram account, that falsely showed her with Prince Georg of Liechtenstein. NOS (29 March) relays the Belgian reporting.

Reported harm

AI-generated photos and videos of Princess Elisabeth, including a suggestive video that went viral, were posted by a fake account impersonating her; the Royal Palace deplored the content and sought its removal (RTL Info via RTBF; VRT NWS).

Outcome

Unknown

The Royal Palace told RTL Info that it had taken the necessary measures in this case, and told VRT NWS that it had reported the images to have them removed. La Libre (27 March 2026) reported that the account appeared to have disappeared. No complaint to police or prosecutors, and no platform statement, is reported in the read sources.

What remains unknown

  • Who operated the account and with what AI tool the content was made.
  • When the account began posting.
  • Whether any complaint was filed with police or prosecutors.
  • Whether Meta removed the account or its operator deleted it.

What the evidence supports

AI involvement: reported. RTBF (relaying RTL Info), La Libre, VRT NWS and NOS describe the photos and videos as generated with artificial intelligence or as deepfakes, and the Palace refers to AI-generated content. No tool is named and no forensic analysis is reported.

4 claims: 4 reported. What the statuses mean

Reported A Facebook account presenting itself as the official account of Princess Elisabeth, with more than 28,000 followers, posted photos and videos of her over recent months, many of them generated with artificial intelligence.

Causal attribution. Media describe the content as AI-generated; the account operator is not identified.

  • rtbf.be(opens in new tab) supports · French
    'un compte Facebook, se présentant comme le compte officiel de la princesse Elisabeth'; 'Suivi à ce jour par plus de 28.000 personnes'; 'dont une grande partie ont été générées grâce à'
  • vrt.be(opens in new tab) supports · Dutch
    'Op Facebook bestaat er een nepprofiel dat zich voordoet als kroonprinses Elisabeth.'; 'Alleen zijn de beelden op het Facebookaccount volledig nep.'; 'plaatste de afgelopen maanden tientallen'
  • nos.nl(opens in new tab) supports · Dutch
    'Op een nepprofiel op Facebook zijn tientallen AI-foto'
Reported One suggestive AI-generated video on the account, showing the princess dancing in a prison cell, went viral with more than 1,000 likes and drew public indignation.

Causal attribution. The like and view counts are the outlets' figures at publication; they measure exposure, not harm.

  • rtbf.be(opens in new tab) supports · French
    'montrant la princesse en train de danser dans une cellule de prison'; 'Devenue virale, elle cumule à ce jour plus de 1200 likes'; 'du contenu plus suggestif, susceptible de porter atteinte'
  • lalibre.be(opens in new tab) supports · French
    'Le contenu, qui a été liké par plus de 1.100 personnes, a alarmé plusieurs internautes.'
  • vrt.be(opens in new tab) supports · Dutch
    'De video werd al meer dan 14.000 keer bekeken en heeft meer dan 1.000 likes.'; 'lokt zelfs veel verontwaardiging uit'
Reported The Royal Palace deplored the mass spread of AI-generated content of this kind, called it unfortunately very frequent and said it had taken the necessary measures in this case.

Causal attribution. Palace statements to RTL Info and to VRT NWS.

  • rtbf.be(opens in new tab) supports · French
    'le Palais royal déplore de son côté la diffusion massive de ce type de contenus générés par IA'; 'avoir pris les mesures nécessaires dans ce cas-ci'
  • vrt.be(opens in new tab) supports · Dutch
    'Het Paleis is op de hoogte van het nepaccount en de AI-beelden.'
  • nos.nl(opens in new tab) supports · Dutch
    'Het Koninklijk Paleis betreurt de beelden en heeft laten weten dat er maatregelen zijn genomen om de beelden te laten verwijderen.'
Reported After the reports, the Facebook account appeared to have disappeared.

Causal attribution. La Libre's observation; neither Meta nor the Palace is quoted on the removal.

Sources

4 sources inspected, from 2 underlying accounts. Sources that repeat one account do not corroborate each other.

How the sources were read, and where the events happened

Read live in French on 2026-10-04 (RTBF, 27 March 2026, by Elise Vander Goten for Vivacité). Relays an RTL Info article, including the Palace reply to RTL; the RTL original was not read. Researcher translation. Applies to s1.

Read live in French on 2026-10-04 (La Libre, 27 March 2026). Cites the Palace reply to RTL Info, so it is grouped with the RTL chain; adds that the account appeared to have disappeared. Researcher translation. Applies to s2.

Read live in Dutch on 2026-10-04 (VRT NWS, 28 March 2026). Credits RTL Info for the story but reports its own Palace reply and view count. Researcher translation. Applies to s3.

Read live in Dutch on 2026-10-04 (NOS, 29 March 2026). Relays Belgian media and cites VRT, so it is grouped with VRT. Researcher translation. Applies to s4.

Event countries: Unknown. Affected-person countries: Belgium. Court countries: Unknown.

Princess Elisabeth is the eldest daughter of King Philippe and the future queen of Belgium (RTBF; La Libre). Where the account operator was located and where the content was made are not stated, so no event country is recorded. No court proceeding is reported.

Reviewed for publication 2026-10-04: Published under the 2026-09-15 charter as a core case: AI-generated photos and videos depicting a named public figure, posted by an account impersonating her, including a suggestive video that went viral; the Palace deplored it and sought removal. The account rests on RTL Info reporting relayed by RTBF and La Libre and on VRT NWS's own Palace reply. The content is not reproduced or described beyond the outlets' general description.

People described

Princess Elisabeth, Duchess of Brabant, heir to the Belgian throne (24 at the time, per VRT NWS)

People reported harmed in this case

1 person

0 AI participants · 1 other person harmed

One depicted person, Princess Elisabeth (RTBF; VRT NWS). Followers, likes and views are not counted. Exact 1.

Counted once within this case. The same person may appear in other cases. This count does not establish AI causation.

Tags

#deepfakes#ai-generated-video#ai-generated-images#impersonation#facebook#belgium#royal-family

Cite this case

Compiled per our published methodology: verification statuses, sourcing standards, and corrections process.

APA

NOPE. (2026). Belgium: a fake Facebook account posing as Crown Princess Elisabeth posts AI-generated photos and videos of her, including a suggestive video that went viral; the Royal Palace says it took the necessary measures. AI incidents. https://nope.net/incidents/2026-belgium-princess-elisabeth-ai-deepfake-videos-fake-facebook-account

BibTeX

@misc{2026_belgium_princess_elisabeth_ai_deepfake_videos_fake_facebook_account,
  title = {Belgium: a fake Facebook account posing as Crown Princess Elisabeth posts AI-generated photos and videos of her, including a suggestive video that went viral; the Royal Palace says it took the necessary measures},
  author = {NOPE},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {AI incidents},
  url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2026-belgium-princess-elisabeth-ai-deepfake-videos-fake-facebook-account}
}

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