Who is Larissa Nery, the ‘Brazilian model’ claimed to be featuring on Haryana voter lists?

The ‘model’ was identified as Larissa Nery, a hairdressing professional from southeastern Brazil’s Minas Gerais. She runs a salon in Belo Horizonte, the capital city of Minas Gerais.

Nery’s image that was allegedly used in Haryana’s voter rolls was taken from an online photo repository. The image has also been used to create fake profiles on social media as well. The image is from 2017, when she was clicked by photographer Matheus Ferrero during a project. The photo was available on multiple websites but has now been deleted.

Unsplash has deleted Larissa Nery’s photo after Rahul Gandhi’s allegation.

Brazilian fact-checking news agency Aos Fatos said it was in touch with Larissa Nery, who has denied any knowledge of her photos being used in the Haryana elections. She also said that she is “not a model and only posed for the photo to help a friend at the time”.

Larissa Nery Reacts

Soon after Rahul Gandhi’s claim went viral, a video of Nery surfaced, in which the woman is seen dismissing any personal ties with India. She said it was a “joke”. Speaking in Portuguese, she joked, “Friends, I’m going to tell you a joke. They are using an old picture me. I must have been about 18-20 years old… I don’t know if it’s an election, something about voting in India!”

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