Viral image turns into a political storm after opposition leader Rahul Gandhi exposes alleged digital fraud
A Brazilian model’s viral photo has become the center of a shocking election scandal in India, after it was discovered that the same image appeared in 22 different voter ID records under various names.
The revelation came from Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi, who presented evidence showing how the identical photo was used multiple times in the country’s official electoral database — raising serious concerns about digital identity theft, AI-generated fake IDs, and cyber manipulation ahead of upcoming elections.
The photographer who captured the original image reportedly deactivated his Instagram account shortly after the controversy exploded online, following a wave of international attention and harassment from internet users around the world.
Authorities in India are now investigating how a photo of a Brazilian woman ended up being recycled across government records, as cybersecurity experts warn this could be one of the most bizarre cases of image misuse in electoral history.
Meanwhile, social media platforms like X (Twitter), Instagram, and Reddit are flooded with memes and posts debating the case — some calling it “the digital clone scandal,” others blaming AI tools and weak data verification systems for making such fraud possible.
The incident reignites a global conversation about digital security, deepfakes, and personal image protection in an era where one photo can travel across borders — and even into election systems — without consent.
