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STOCKHOLM: A Swedish health authority unintentionally used “Hide the Pain Harold” – one of the internet’s most recognized personalities – as the face of its COVID-19 vaccination booking website, officials said Tuesday (March 30) to evening adding the image had now been deleted.
Harold is actually Hungarian man Andras Arato, who in 2008 and 2009 posed as a model for stock photographs. These images of a man with a gray beard wearing a smile but with sad, pained eyes have become an internet meme dubbed “Hide the Pain Harold” as they have been shared and reused with new humorous captions by millions of people throughout the world. line.
“Harold” briefly introduced the website where Stockholm city residents can book their COVID-19 vaccines after the city used a photo of Arato from a photo agency database.
“We didn’t know it was a meme until we noticed it. But of course we made sure to change the image now,” Hanna Fellenius, a spokeswoman for the Stockholm area, told Reuters.
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A screenshot from March 31, 2021 shows part of a government website where Swedes can book COVID-19 vaccinations, with the ‘Hide the Pain Harold’ meme. (Image: Reuters)
It took nine years for Arato to discover he was one of the most recognizable faces on the internet, but since then he has used his fame to a business advantage: promoting ad campaigns for German retailer Otto. and give a TED talk.
The regional agency, responsible for the health of about one million Stockholm residents, said it believed the blunder had not damaged public confidence in vaccines.
“Our assessment is that posting for a few hours of an image that is not in itself misleading or inappropriate does not undermine confidence in COVID-19 vaccinations.”
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