Nowadays, anti-gay violence in the Netherlands is still an issue. Recent studies even show it’s getting worse. Despite this increase, attention for social equality for LGBT people is fading.

Pink Monday is one of the biggest gay events in the Netherlands. On Pink Monday people from all over our country celebrate differences instead of condemning them. The Pink Monday foundation also defends gay rights in the Netherlands. This year they wanted to draw attention to the social equality for LGBT people instead of to the event itself.

So we created GayVillage. A luxurious village, built exclusively for the Dutch Gay community. Separated from the intolerant outside world to provide a comfortable life in a village populated with like-minded people.

But of course, GayVillage wasn’t real. It was designed to test the famous Dutch Tolerance.

The reactions to the hoax were real though. The introduction of GayVillage showed the rift in our society. Some people suggested bombing the village. Others referred to it as a ghetto. A large portion of the gay community couldn’t wait to move in. And the media – both domestic and international – bought it. Big time.

As an expert on LGBT social issues phrased it: “We held a mirror to the Netherlands’ face.” And the reflection saddened us. Thankfully Pink Monday makes a strong case for celebrating differences instead of condemning them. With the limited resources available, we created a lot of publicity and helped give this issue a voice again.

News media nowadays are very wary of fake news. To make GayVillage credible enough, we started preparing nine months before the launch. We enrolled a real estate agent and a property developer into our conspiracy. We selected a parcel, acquired the necessary permits and informed the municipality. We created tools like a website and advertising. In advance of the launch we conducted and posted the results of a survey about living with likeminded people.

Prior to the launch we came up with a plan describing multiple outcomes. What if no one reacts? What if reactions are merely modest? For each outcome we had several adjustments thought out. But we didn't need them. After the first news article (based on information from our real estate agent) the attention for GayVillage exploded. We kept the hoax alive for one day and “came out” that evening with a press conference.

Every year the Pink Monday foundation starts out with a budget of € 0,-. Sponsors pay for most of the expenses for the event itself. When sponsorship is not an option, the municipality covers the costs. For the GayVillage campaign, we had exactly € 0,-. Luckily, all parties involved worked for free. The only out of pocket expenses were the costs for hosting and registering the site, gayvillage.nl; a total of 151,25 euro.