Swedish vaccine website accidentally uses ‘Hide the Pain Harold’ meme as promo pic
Authorities said they were unaware of the meme and later took down the picture
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Sweden’s health officials got a crash course in online meme culture after they unwittingly used a well-known viral stock image to promote a Covid-19 vaccination drive.
Unfortunately for those trying to encourage people to take their jabs, the image in question is of a Hungarian man forcing a smile that is known online as the “Hide the Pain Harold” meme.
“Harold” was being used alongside an announcement that the Stockholm region was expanding its vaccination drive to include all residents over the age of 75 at the weekend.
The meme image was swiftly taken down from the website after it was spotted by amused social media users, to prevent it from sending a “misleading or inappropriate” message to the people.
“We did not know it was a meme until we noticed this. But of course, we have made sure to change the picture now,” Hanna Fellenius, a spokeswoman for the Stockholm authorities told Reuters.
Ms Fellenius said they came to know it was a meme when someone sent an email to the editorial staff.
However, the corrective measure appeared to have come too late, with internet users already joking about the gaffe and saying it’s nice “Harold” is doing his bit for Sweden’s vaccination drive.
Meme-famous “Harold” is actually a Hungarian man named Andras Arato. Mr Arato recently appeared in several interviews where he said he posed for the stock photos some time ago and it took nine years for him to discover he was famous online.
A regional health agency said it didn’t think the image had done any lasting damage to public confidence in Covid jabs.
“Our assessment is that the publication for a few hours of an image that is not in itself misleading or inappropriate does not damage confidence in the Covid-19 vaccinations,” it said.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments