A March 31, 2021 screenshot shows a part of a government website where Swedes can book COVID-19 vaccinations, featuring the "Hide the Pain Harold" meme. Stockholm Region/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - A health authority in Sweden unwittingly used 'Hide the Pain Harold' - one of the internet's most-recognised figures - as the face of its COVID-19 vaccination booking website, officials said on Tuesday evening, adding the image had now been removed.
Harold is actually Hungarian man Andras Arato, who in 2008 and 2009 posed as a model for stock photographs. Those images of a grey-bearded man wearing a smile but with sad, pained eyes became an internet meme dubbed "Hide the Pain Harold" as they were shared and reused with new, humorous captions by millions online.
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