We Thought This Lady's Photos In Southeast Asia Were Real Until We Saw Videos
Why pay money to travel when you can fake it at home?
By Darian Goh — 11 Sep 2014, 04:49 PM — Updated about 10 years ago
Dutch student Zilla van den Born tricked her friends and family by posting photos of her travelling in Southeast Asia
Dutch student Zilla van den Born tricked her friends and family by posting photos of her travelling in Southeast Asia
Image via dailymail.co.ukZilla van den Born deceived her loved ones into thinking she was enjoying an exotic five-week holiday across South East Asia as part of a university project.
dailymail.co.ukBut Dutch student Zilla van den Born took things a few steps further by faking an entire exotic five-week holiday across South East Asia from the comfort of her own home.
metro.co.uk
In reality, she never left Amsterdam. Instead, she manipulated the photos by superimposing herself using Photoshop with the help of her boyfriend.
In reality, she never left Amsterdam. Instead, she manipulated the photos by superimposing herself using photoshop with the help of her boyfriend.
Image via dailymail.co.ukThe graphics student was waved off at the airport by her family before she took a train back to Amsterdam and spent the following 42 days indoors cleverly altering images.
dailymail.co.ukFor five weeks Dutch student Zilla van den Born subjected her Facebook friends to the above, claiming to be travelling around South East Asia, when in reality she had never left her home city of Amsterdam.
She went to extraordinary lengths to perpetuate the illusion, which was fed to her friends and family alike. The only person who knew the truth was her boyfriend.
For starters, she 'explored' a Buddhist temple in Cambodia when it was actually just a place in Amsterdam
The time when she was snorkelling in the sea? It's just a local public swimming pool with fish superimposed into it. She even got a fake tan to match.
The time when she was snorkelling in the sea? It's just a local public swimming pool with fish superimposed into it. She even got a fake tan to match.
Image via dailymail.co.ukTo make it believable, she called her family at odd hours on Skype and even decorated her bedroom to the look and feel of an Asian room
To make it believable, she called her family at odd hours on Skype and even decorated her bedroom to the look and feel of an Southeast Asian room
Image via dailymail.co.ukZilla even redecorated her own bedroom to make it look like an Oriental hotel room so that she could have Skype conversations with her family – at random times in the night, of course – without raising suspicion.
She even created the illusion of a Thai hotel room in her own bedroom, using old Christmas decorations and an umbrella, to fool her parents during Skype sessions. If all of that wasn't enough she sent text messages in the middle of the night and posted Asian souvenirs that she had actually bought from local shops.
dailymail.co.ukHer reason for all this? To show people that they often filter and manipulate things on social media to portray an ideal version of themselves
Her reason for all this? To show people that they often filter and manipulate things on social media to portray an ideal version of themselves
Image via wordpress.comZilla said, 'I did this to show people that we filter and manipulate what we show on social media - we create an ideal world online which reality can no longer meet. 'My goal was to prove how common and easy it is for people to distort reality. Everyone knows that pictures of models are manipulated, but we often overlook the fact that we manipulate reality also in our own lives.'
dailymail.co.uk
The reasons behind her actions, however, are noble: it was all part of a university project, in which she wanted to show how Facebook activity is not necessarily reflective of real life. Speaking to media in her home country, she said: “I did this to show people that we filter and manipulate what we show on social media, and that we create an online world which reality can no longer meet.