Fake war photographer hiding out in Australia

There’s an old adage in photography to fake it until you make it. And most of us know exactly what that means. Sadly, the subtle nuances of this otherwise reasonably solid advice were lost on the 32-year-old Brazilian, from São Paulo, Eduardo Martins – not his real identity.

Eduardo Martins used the images of British surfer, Max Hepworth-Povey, also 32, for his Instagram profile.

The fake war photographer not only managed to fool almost 130,000 followers on Instagram, but also some of the leading news agencies around the world, including the Wall Street Journal, Al Jazeera, Vice, BBC Brazil, Getty Images, and Zuma. As reposted on SBS website, Martins’ extensive deception involved supplying images shot by other photographers which he flipped horizontally and retouched.

A screenshot of the original BBC Brazil profile of Eduardo Martins. BBC Brazil later admitted they were deceived by Martins and went on to break the story revealing Martins' deceit.

Martins was initially exposed as fake on 31 August by Fernando Costa Netto, a war photographer and Waves site columnist. The two were friends online and Costa Netto had recently published a piece about Martins, telling his story and showcasing his “exceptional talent”. Upon being discovered as a fake, Martins immediately deleted his Instagram account and website and wrote to Costa Netto.

"I'm in Australia. I've made the decision to spend a year in a van," wrote 'Martins. 

"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."

It was another photographer from São Paulo, Ignacio Aronovich, who first identified the deceptive trick behind Martin’s image. Where other photographers were present in shots, Aronovich noticed that shutter buttons appeared on the left side of the camera which indicated that the images has been mirrored.

Ignacio Aronovich posted this comparison on his Facebook page which
clearly shows the deception.

Martins' Instagram profile before it was deleted.