‘Belgian Nightmares’: Viral Videos Spark Debate on Urban Decline
A series of viral videos labeled “Belgian Nightmares” has swept across YouTube and social media, depicting cities such as Liège, Brussels, and Antwerp in a state of severe urban decay. The most recent installment, “Liège: A Belgian Nightmare?” published on July 10 by Dutch YouTuber Tom Van den Heuvel — known online as “Dutch Travel Maniac” — amassed over 540,000 views in just a few days, reigniting a fierce debate about whether these portrayals reflect genuine social problems or constitute a sensationalized genre critics have dubbed “decline porn.”
The Latest Video and Its Controversy
The 34-minute video focuses on two locations in Liège: the Guillemins train station area and the Droixhe neighborhood, an area known for socioeconomic challenges. According to an in-depth investigation by RTBF, the video’s thumbnail features a young boy with the caption “They are armed,” showing him holding a “shocker” — an electric self-defense device — which the video misleadingly presented as a taser. Shockers are illegal in Belgium but classified differently in France.
Van den Heuvel films homeless individuals, people under the influence of substances, and residents who explicitly ask not to be filmed. When confronted, he responds: “I am in Europe, I have the right to film whatever I want.” However, Belgian law requires explicit consent before filming and publishing identifiable images of individuals, with special protections for minors.
A Growing Trend: ‘Decline Porn’
This is not an isolated incident. The same YouTuber previously published a video on Brussels in September 2025 titled “Attaqué à Bruxelles ?!” which garnered over 3.1 million views and 22,000 comments. South African YouTuber Kurt Caz, who has over four million subscribers, created a video titled “Harassed In Europe’s Worst City! Brussels” featuring former Vlaams Belang member Dries Van Langenhove. That video was taken down in Belgium following a legal complaint but remains available in the Netherlands.
The phenomenon has a name: “decline porn.” As BBC News reported in February, this genre describes content where “online influencers and content creators portray Western cities such as London, Manchester, San Francisco or New York as overrun with immigrants and crime.” These narratives are “often exaggerated or fabricated” and are “fuelling anger and racist backlash among some viewers who take them at face value.”
Expert Analysis: Framing and Ideology
Academics studying the trend argue that these videos employ deliberate framing techniques to advance a political narrative. François Debras, a professor at the University of Liège specializing in far-right discourse analysis, told RTBF: “Like in reality TV or vlog formats, you only show what you want to show. Behind this appearance of authenticity and proximity, there are choices of images, interviews, routes, streets, and neighborhoods.” He added that the message carries “a very strong framing: immigration equals insecurity.”
According to The Bulletin, Daniël Jurg of the VUB’s SMIT research group noted that these creators “use controversy and popular genres, like travel vlogging, to gain viewers’ trust and lead them into a far-right ideology.” The power of YouTubers, he explained, lies in their perceived authenticity — viewers identify with them and are drawn into their message.
Anaëlle Gonzalez, a postdoctoral researcher at KU Leuven specializing in mass communication, told The Bulletin that the videos are popular because “migration remains a popular topic. In times of political and financial uncertainty, people are looking for a clear narrative. They’re looking for someone to blame.” She warned that “videos like this are dangerous because they involve framing and often misinformation too.”
The Role of AI and Disinformation
The BBC investigation revealed that AI-generated content is increasingly being used to amplify “decline porn” narratives. Deepfake videos showing absurd scenes — such as taxpayer-funded water parks in Croydon, London — have racked up millions of views. Kurt Caz was accused of using AI to doctor a thumbnail for a London video, adding Arabic text to shop signs and a balaclava to a cyclist who had been friendly in the actual footage. On X, Caz dismissed the criticism as “clickbait.”
Legal and Political Implications
The cross-border nature of this content — Dutch creators targeting Belgian cities — raises complex jurisdictional questions. Belgian privacy law applies, but enforcement across borders remains challenging. Sigrid Raets of the Hannah Arendt Institute, quoted in Knack, described these images as part of “a broader far-right, anti-immigration, anti-Islam discourse.”
Van den Heuvel has made his political stance explicit, stating: “Left-wing parties are responsible for massive illegal immigration and are turning Europe into a real rat hole.”
What to Watch For
As the “Belgian Nightmares” phenomenon continues to spread, several questions remain unanswered. Will Belgian authorities take legal action against creators for privacy violations? How will YouTube and other platforms respond to content that may violate local laws while balancing free expression? And what counter-narratives can Belgian cities develop to present a more balanced picture of urban life?
For now, experts urge viewers to approach these videos with critical caution. As François Debras advised: “When our emotions take over analysis and reason, we must always take a step back.”