Who is "the most horrible man you know" - and why is he not really like that

Joseph Maria Garcia, who lives near Barcelona, ​​has become a "meme" that has garnered more than two billion Google search results, after an American satirical article used his image, unknowingly, under the headline "The worst person you know"

News agencies

19/06/2022

Sunday, 19 June 2022, 17:38 Updated: 17:58

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Joseph Maria Garcia was shocked when he discovered one day that not only had his image gone viral, but it also appeared during a Google search of the English phrase "the worst person you know".

How did it happen that the 42-year-old from a small town near Barcelona found himself winning the dubious title across the net?

Eight years ago, Garcia accompanied his brother, a professional photographer, during a business trip to Barcelona, ​​where the brother was to photograph a super-American photographer.

During the preparations for the photo shoot, the brother asked Garcia to be photographed beforehand so he could check the lighting.

Garcia's image was so good that the brothers decided to upload it to the Getty Images catalog.

Garcia said he vaguely remembers that in 2018 his brother told him his picture was used in an article in the American satirical website "Clickhol" titled "The Worst Person You Know".

At the time, Garcia did not address the issue, and without being aware of it, the picture became a global "meme."

The article in which his picture was used was a light-hearted story about that annoying man at work, whom we all know, who only talks about politics and is sure to be the most witty.

Became "mm".

Joseph Maria Garcia (Photo: courtesy of the photographers)

Shortly after the corona closure in Spain began in 2020, Garcia received a phone call from his brother telling him to google the phrase "the worst person you know."

When he did, he saw to his surprise that his picture appeared.

"My face, but my face. What's going on here?"

He wondered in horror.

To Garcia's delight, the town of Molins de Ray, home to some 26,000 people, was unaware of the dubious publicity of their compatriot, as few in the town spoke English.

However, in the English phrase "the most horrible person you know" in English has won two billion results.

Maccabee on the net.

Joseph Maria Garcia

twitter

Garcia enjoyed the quiet until a journalist decided to expose his whereabouts in a series of posts on social media.

A flood of messages reached Garcia from around the world, before his brother decided to take down the brush image.

But Garcia was unable to dodge unscathed.

"I read comments that said I had the face of a Nazi who believed in white supremacy, or that I seemed empathetic," he told the Guardian.

Garcia has now come to terms with what has happened, and in recent months he has been considering taking advantage of his online publicity and selling T-shirts that have the "most horrible" person you know printed on them.

"Today it's funny to me," he told the Guardian.

"There are still people who ask me if I really do not care, but it really does not bother me anymore."

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