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The Brazilian photographer whose image went viral after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s “vote chori” remark during the Haryana elections has deleted his Instagram account amid a wave of online attention and harassment. Matheus Ferrero, a photographer from Belo Horizonte, Brazil, had originally captured the photo of a woman in 2017 and shared it online with her consent. The image, titled “Woman Wearing Blue Denim Jacket,” was later uploaded to free stock photography platforms such as Unsplash and Pexels, where it became widely accessible. Since then, the picture has been downloaded over four lakh times and has appeared across numerous websites and publications worldwide. The photo unexpectedly found itself at the centre of a political controversy after Rahul Gandhi used it to allege large-scale voter fraud, claiming the same image appeared on multiple voter IDs in Haryana. Thousands of kilometres away, Ferrero suddenly became a trending topic on Indian social media, with many users mistakenly identifying him as the woman in the photograph. Ferrero, while speaking to Brazilian news outlet Aos Fatos, said he deleted his Instagram account after the controversy erupted. "They literally hacked all my accounts. There were a lot of strange people saying all sorts of things," Ferrero told the news outlet. He added that "many people did not understand it was a free-use photo from a stock platform." 'I Thought I looked Mexican': 'Brazilian Model' at Centre of Rahul Gandhi's Vote Chori Charge The 'Brazilian model', earlier in the day, reacted with surprise, saying the picture was of her early modelling days and clarified that she was no longer a model. "It seems I’ve gained many Indian followers now," she quipped on Instagram, asserting, "it wasn't me, it was only my photo". "I have absolutely nothing to do with politics in India. My photo was purchased from a stock image platform and used without my involvement. It's not me, I've never even been to India," she clarified in a video, reposted by Congress leaders on X. The Brazilian woman, who was identified as Larissa, said that she is a "digital influencer and a hairdresser, and I love the Indian people." Larissa revealed that many Indians flooded her Instagram with comments, after her photo went viral following Rahul Gandhi's press briefing. Many were trying to learn more about her identity. "People were commenting on my photos as if I was elected! Just to be clear, it wasn’t me, it was only my photo," she asserted. For the Latest news, India News, Bihar Election 2025 updates and breaking stories from around the world, visit Times Now for live coverage and in-depth reporting.
