Brazilian photographer deletes Instagram after Rahul Gandhi uses his image in Haryana vote-fraud row

A Brazilian photographer has found himself at the centre of a political storm after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi used one of his old photographs to allege large-scale voter fraud in Haryana.

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Matheus Ferrero, a photographer based in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, took a portrait in 2017 of his friend Larissa Nery, who posed wearing a blue denim jacket. With her permission, Ferrero uploaded the image to free stock photography sites like Unsplash and Pexels. The picture, titled “Woman Wearing Blue Denim Jacket,” has since been downloaded over 4,00,000 times and used by numerous websites and publications around the world.

On Wednesday, Rahul Gandhi displayed the same photograph during a press conference, alleging that the image appeared 22 times in Haryana’s Rai Assembly voter list, under different names such as Seema, Sweety, Saraswati, Rashmi, and Vimla. He accused the Election Commission of enabling vote manipulation and claimed that Congress’s “landslide victory was converted into a loss” through a “centralised operation.”

When a journalist pointed out that the woman didn’t appear Indian, Gandhi quipped, “But she votes 22 times in Haryana and in 10 different booths.”

Photographer caught in the crossfire

Soon after Gandhi’s allegations went viral, Ferrero became the target of massive online attention. Millions searched his name on social media, and trolls flooded his profiles with messages. Speaking to Brazilian news outlet Aos Fatos, Ferrero said his accounts were hacked and he was forced to delete his Instagram page.

“They literally hacked all my accounts. There were a lot of strange people saying all sorts of things. I think many didn’t realise it was a free stock photo,” he said.

Ferrero clarified that he had no connection to Indian politics and that anyone could download and use the image from stock-photo platforms.

Woman in photo speaks out

Larissa Nery, the woman in the viral image, also responded in a video now circulating online. She said she posed for the photo years ago, simply helping her photographer friend.

“Guys, they’re using an old photo of mine! I was about 18 or 20 years old. They’re portraying me as Indian to scam people. What madness is this?” she said, calling the situation “crazy.”

Election commission

Officials in the Election Commission dismissed Gandhi’s allegations, questioning why Congress’s own polling agents did not object to suspicious voters during the election. A source said that the EC already conducts regular revisions to remove duplicates and deceased voters from rolls.

Union Minister Kiren Rijiju criticised Gandhi for “talking about fake issues,” adding, “Polling is happening in Bihar, but he’s telling stories about Haryana.”

Background

Rahul Gandhi has repeatedly accused the Election Commission of bias, alleging that the 2024 Haryana polls were manipulated in favour of the BJP. He claims to have “100 per cent proof” of a plan to distort the results, using the Brazilian woman’s photograph as an example of systemic duplication in voter lists.

Meanwhile, in Brazil, Ferrero and Nery say they are baffled at how a simple 2017 portrait became a symbol of alleged electoral fraud thousands of kilometres away.