Two political parties use the same, iStock, photo

It’s not just the portrait of a Greek man on a pot of Turkish Yoghurt that is raising questions about stock photography. Two parties in Ireland have used a photo of the same woman endorsing their party. And this is where the plot thickens. One of them knew the other had used it.

First the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) used the picture from the microstock company iStockphoto in their election campaign. The quote on the poster say ‘I vote DUP’.  Then, somehow the Ulster Conservatives and Unionists (UCE) found out where the DUP found the picture and used it on their own posters claiming she changed her mind. While this may be seen as a funny poke at a competitive party it may lead to some issues regarding the terms and conditions of the image.

Generally stockphotos with models can not be used to endorse product and iStockphoto has said this is the same in their terms and conditions. So far it’s not clear what action iStockphoto is taking. In the meantime a new, now male, model has appeared on a DUP poster and this one has also come from iStockphoto.