A Brazilian hairdresser, Larissa Nery, has become the focus of attention in India after her photograph was used in allegations of election fraud. The incident arose after Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party, the BJP, and the Election Commission of voter manipulation in Haryana’s elections. During a press conference, he claimed there were approximately 2.5 million irregular entries on the voter list, which included duplicates and invalid addresses.
Gandhi displayed multiple slides, one of which featured Nery’s image, alleging that it had been used to represent multiple voters under different names. Nery, who resides in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, initially believed the situation was either a mistake or a prank. However, as messages flooded her social media, she realized the gravity of the situation and began searching online for more information.
Following Gandhi’s press conference, the Chief Electoral Officer of Haryana issued a letter to Gandhi requesting him to provide details of the alleged ineligible voters. However, they did not address Nery’s situation directly. Nery confirmed that she is indeed the person in the photo used but clarified that she is a hairdresser and not a model. The image was taken in 2017, and since then, it had gained significant online visibility.
Both Nery and the photographer of the image, Matheus Ferrero, have expressed confusion and concern. Ferrero has faced unwanted attention due to a surge in inquiries regarding the photo. He indicated that he had to make the original post private to protect his privacy and that the photo’s misuse left both him and Nery feeling invaded. As Nery stated, she is still trying to comprehend how this situation, connected to a foreign election, has impacted her life significantly.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crmx89jkgw7o?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss