Fans of Eduardo Martins’ work would likely tell you that the accomplished photographer was not only handsome, but also a skilled surfer from Sao Paulo, and a survivor of childhood leukemia.
They probably didn’t know, until now, that the 32-year-old is who had amassed more than 100,000 followers on his now-deleted Instagram account wasn’t Eduardo Martins at all. There was never an Eduardo Martins.
So, who is the real person behind Eduardo Martins? Well, no one really knows.
The whole facade came crashing down after war photographer and Waves site columnist Fernando Costa Netto published an interview with Martins, with whom he had developed an online friendship. The interview, published in July, lauded the photographer’s work. Shortly thereafter, Costa Netto received calls from BBC Brasil and an unknown English publication indicating Martins was a fraud. In an attempt to get the real story, Costa Netto questioned Martins, which led to Martins deleting his Instagram and WhatsApp, according to SBS.
Prior to deleting his accounts, Martins told Costa Netto that he was “in Australia.”
“I’ve made the decision to spend a year in a van,” he said. “I’ll delete everything online, including internet. I want to be in peace, we’ll see each other when I get back. For anything, write me at dudumartisn23@yahoo.com. A big hug. I’m going to delete the zap. God be with you. A hug.”
That exchange led Costa Netto to publish a follow-up report with extremely damning accusations in August. Additionally, the BBC had previously published a long profile of Martins and his life story, which has since been retracted after Middle East-based BBC Brasil contributor Natasha Ribeiro became suspicious. Martins had contacted her and she realized that no one she knew in the region had ever actually met him, the BBC reported Wednesday.
Ribeiro was able to confirm with the United Nations that no one named Eduardo Martins was ever employed by them.
BBC Brasil also discovered that the images passed off as Martins’ face were of surfer Hepworth-Povey. The mystery fraudster had inserted Hepworth-Povey into dozens of photographs depicting war zones. Hepworth-Povey told BBC Brasil that “it’s crazy that some random guy decided to use my image among so many options across internet.”
The false persona would be bad enough on its own, but when you factor in how widespread the images were, the con takes on a new significance.
The mystery person doctored images from photographers all around the world, inverting and retouching them so they’d become unsearchable, then shared them on “Martins’” account.
The phony images, taken in places including Gaza, Iraq, and Syria, were picked up by Getty Images, The Wall Street Journal, Le Monde, Al Jazeera, Deutsche Welle, and other outlets.
So far, Getty has since taken down all of the fraudulent Martins photos they had in circulation, and HuffPost has reached out to them for comment.
Daniel C. Britt, one of the real photographers behind some of the stolen images, told Mashable that he was most disappointed that Martins “bastardized” his work and “gave people yet another reason to distrust the news”.
As for Martins, the real identity of the fake photographer is still unknown. For now, this mystery is unsolved.
"Powerful eruption of Colima Volcano in Mexico on December 13th, 2015. That night, the weather was dry and cold, friction of ash particles generated a big lightning of about 600 meters that connected ash and volcano, and illuminated most of the dark scene. On [the] last part of 2015, this volcano showed a lot of eruptive activity with ash explosions that raised 2 to 3 kilometers above the crater. Most of night explosions produced incandescent rock falls and lightning." ― Sergio Tapiro Velasco (Grand prize winner)
General Carrera Lake, Patagonia
"My dad and I traveled to Patagonia this year, and we wanted to see something off the beaten path. After a 10-hour drive and traversing a long, dirt trail, we finally came upon the marble caves in General Carrera Lake. We chartered a boat to take us closer, and I waited for the perfect light to capture these intricate blue swirls. The extra effort it took to reach the caves was worth it." ― Clane Gessel (Honorable mention, Nature)
Lofoten Islands, Norway
"This football field in Henningsvær in the Lofoten Islands is considered one of the most amazing fields in Europe, and maybe even in the world. The photo was taken during a 10-day sailing trip in Norway in June 2017. We arrived to Henningsvær after a week of sailing through the cold and rainy weather. Upon our arrival, the weather cleared up. I was really lucky that the conditions were suitable for flying my drone, and I managed to capture this shot from a height of 120 meters." ― Misha De-Stroyev (Third place winner, Cities)
Tavarua, Fiji
"I recently traveled to Tavarua, Fiji to do some surf photography with pro surfer Donavon Frankenreiter at Cloudbreak. I'm always looking for new angles and perspectives. The usual surf shots have all been done, so we decided to get a little creative. Makes you look twice." ― Rodney Bursiel (Third place winner, People)
Mount Bromo, East Java, Indonesia
"Mount Bromo volcano is a small but active volcanic cinder cone on Java, Indonesia. Early [in] 2016, I happened to be in Mount Bromo during the increase of seismic activity [which] triggered the alert status to the second highest." ― Reynold Riksa Dewantara (Honorable mention, Nature)
New Delhi, India
"A beautiful photo of a father and son sitting in white traditional attire with beautiful blue sky on the day of Eid al-Fitr in a mosque in New Delhi, India. The photo shows the beautiful bond which these two generations have been building up in a very simple and lovable manner." ― Jobit George (Honorable mention, People)
"Swans glide over the water in Kabukurinuma, Osaki, Japan, a protected wetland. Since many of Japan’s wetlands have been lost, this area has become a rare wintering place for birds and may be a last paradise for them. I was particularly impressed by the swans, and careful not to disturb them when taking pictures. I took into account wind direction and shutter speed to capture the strength and elegance of their flapping wings." ― Hiromi Kano (Second place winner, Nature)
Tongi Railway Station, Gazipur, Bangladesh
"The photo was taken on 23rd of July 2016 at Tongi Railway Station, Gazipur, Bangladesh. I was there taking photos and waiting for a moment. A train from Dhaka toward another district had reached and stopped at the platform for 5 minutes for lifting passengers. It was raining. Suddenly I found a pair of curious eyes looking at me through the window, and on his left an umbrella had been put to protect from the rain. I got the moment." ― Moin Ahmed (Honorable mention, People)
Rio Tarcoles, Costa Rica
"This image was captured in Costa Rica when I was traveling from Monteverde to Playa Hermosa. As you cross over this river, you can stop and peer over the edge of the bridge. Below reside over 35 gigantic crocodiles, relaxing on the muddy banks of the river. I wanted to capture the stark difference between the crocodiles on land and in the water. In the murky waters, the body contours of these beasts remain hidden, and one can only truly see their girth as they emerge from the river." ―Tarun Sinha(Third place winner, Nature)
Whampoa Garden, Hong Kong
"The Kowloon Walled City was the densest place on Earth. Hundreds of houses stacked on top of each other enclosed in the center of the structure. Many didn’t have access to open space.This notorious city was finally demolished in 1990's. However, if you look hard enough, you will notice that the city is not dead. Part of it still exists in many of the current high-density housing apartments. I hope this series can get people to think about claustrophobic living in Hong Kong from a new perspective." ― Andy Yeung (Second place winner, Cities)
Tamba, Japan
"This photograph was taken in the evening hours of a humid early summer day in the forest of a small remote village in the Tamba area of Japan. It beautifully captures the magical atmosphere of princess fireflies carpeting a stairway leading to a small shrine revered by the local people." ― Yutaka Takafuji (Honorable mention, Nature)
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
"Museum visitors curiously watch Rembrandt's painting 'Syndics of the Drapers' Guild' [which gives] the illusion that the people on the paintings too are curiously watching the visitors." ― Julius Y. (Second place winner, People)
Stuttgart, Germany
"The modern interior of the city library in Stuttgart. With its wide-open space in the center, where natural light comes from through the windows on the top, it has a very unique atmosphere where you can broaden your knowledge." ― Norbet Fritz (First place winner, Cities)
Gardens of the Queen
"Gardens of the Queen is a remote marine area south of Cuba. Caribbean reef sharks are usually shy, so I placed my camera on a rock where I know they frequent and used a remote trigger to click away as they came in and bumped my camera around." ― Shane Gross (Honorable mention, Nature)
Konya, Turkey
"Willing Dervish in an historical place of Sille Konya, Turkey. The 'dance' of the whirling dervishes is called sema and is a symbol of the Mevlevi culture. According to Mevlana's teachings, human beings are born twice: once of their mothers and the second time of their own bodies." ― F. Dilek Uyar (First place winner, People)
Gifu Prefecture, Japan
"This building is a 20-minute drive from my office -- it's a functioning apartment complex in Gifu Prefecture, Japan, where people live. The modern style of the building is a strange contrast to my sleepy country town, and for a long time I couldn’t quite capture its character. The woman dressed in red was perfectly consonant with the mood of this image. Without her, I couldn’t have made this image." ― Tetsuya Hashimoto (Honorable mention, Cities)
Besakih Temple, Bali
"Besakih Temple has been known as Bali's 'mother temple' for over 1,000 years and is perched 1000 meters high on the southwestern slopes of Mount Agung. Here, Balinese often come to offer up prayer and take blessing from the temple priests, or 'pemangku,' who reside there." ― Michael Dean Morgan (Honorable mention, People)
Five more alternate jurors were selected Friday following questioning from prosecution and defense lawyers, rounding out the 12 jurors and six alternates needed for the case against Trump to proceed.
Former New York Yankees left-hander Fritz Peterson died at the age of 82. He is probably best known exchanging wives with teammate Mike Kekich in the 1970s.
Fantasy baseball analyst Andy Behrens offers up a series of pickups to assist every manager, starting with a duo of Rockies ahead of a Colorado homestand.
!["Powerful eruption of Colima Volcano in Mexico on December 13th, 2015. That night, the weather was dry and cold, friction of ash particles generated a big lightning of about 600 meters that connected ash and volcano, and illuminated most of the dark scene. On [the] last part of 2015, this volcano showed a lot of eruptive activity with ash explosions that raised 2 to 3 kilometers above the crater. Most of night explosions produced incandescent rock falls and lightning." ― <a href="http://yourshot.nationalgeographic.com/profile/1506617/" target="_blank">Sergio Tapiro Velasco</a> (<a href="http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/photographer-of-the-year-2017/gallery/winners-all/1" target="_blank">Grand prize winner</a>)](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/xrUdAH8cpFPpFg0wm6vPmQ--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MA--/https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/5980bc67210000a31afc9a5f.jpeg)
!["Mount Bromo volcano is a small but active volcanic cinder cone on Java, Indonesia. Early [in] 2016, I happened to be in Mount Bromo during the increase of seismic activity [which] triggered the alert status to the second highest." ― <a href="http://yourshot.nationalgeographic.com/profile/1254317/" target="_blank">Reynold Riksa Dewantara</a> (<a href="http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/photographer-of-the-year-2017/gallery/winners-all/6" target="_blank">Honorable mention, Nature</a>)](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/3dBAWkIDMzqDkIlVc22yqQ--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MA--/https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/5980bf7d210000a31afc9a6a.jpeg)
!["Museum visitors curiously watch Rembrandt's painting 'Syndics of the Drapers' Guild' [which gives] the illusion that the people on the paintings too are curiously watching the visitors." ― <a href="http://yourshot.nationalgeographic.com/profile/185433/" target="_blank">Julius Y.</a> (<a href="http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/photographer-of-the-year-2017/gallery/winners-all/10" target="_blank">Second place winner, People</a>)](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/.V5qUUQpE0RgEUusA9._FQ--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MA--/https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/5980c08915000021008b4926.jpeg)
