Brazilian photographer deletes Instagram account after Rahul Gandhi’s Haryana Poll allegations

Brazilian Photographer Deletes Instagram After Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Vote Fraud’ Allegation Sparks Online Storm

A Brazilian photographer, whose image went viral following Rahul Gandhi’s allegations of voter fraud in last year’s Haryana Assembly polls, has deleted his Instagram account after facing a massive online backlash.

Matheus Ferrero, based in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, had taken a photograph of a woman in 2017 and shared it online with her consent. The image, titled “Woman Wearing Blue Denim Jacket,” is freely available on stock photo sites such as Unsplash and Pexels, where it has been downloaded over 4 lakh times and used in various publications worldwide.

On Tuesday, Gandhi used this photo during a press conference to allege electoral irregularities in Haryana, claiming that the same woman’s image appeared 22 times in the voter list for the Rai Assembly seat under different names. The Congress leader accused the Election Commission of aiding the ruling party by failing to remove duplicate entries.

Thousands of kilometres away, Ferrero found himself caught in the controversy. Speaking to Brazilian outlet Aos Fatos, he said his social media accounts were flooded after Gandhi’s allegations went viral.

“They literally hacked all my accounts. There were a lot of strange people saying all sorts of things,” he said, adding that many people didn’t realise the photo was taken from a free stock platform.

The woman in the picture, Larissa Nery, clarified in a video that the photograph was old and unrelated to India’s elections.

“Guys, they are using an old photo of mine. I was 18 or 20 years old. They’re portraying me as Indian to scam people—what madness!” she said in the clip, which has since gone viral.

Nery told Aos Fatos that she is not a model and had only posed to help a friend. Ferrero later sought her permission to share the image online.

Meanwhile, the Election Commission dismissed Gandhi’s allegations, questioning why Congress polling agents did not object to any irregularities on voting day.

“They are supposed to flag duplicate voters or doubtful identities,” an EC source said, adding that efforts are ongoing to remove duplicate and outdated entries through the Special Intensive Revision process.

Responding to Gandhi’s claims, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju accused him of spreading “fake issues.”

“Polling is happening in Bihar, yet he’s telling stories about Haryana. The Leader of Opposition should focus on real issues,” Rijiju said, adding that differences between exit polls and actual results were common.

The incident, which began as a political allegation in India, has now turned into a global social media storm—leaving a Brazilian photographer and his subject unexpectedly at the centre of one of India’s fiercest election debates.