2012·The social era·unexpected
Ecce Homo of Borja
You might remember it as Ecce Mono, Potato Jesus, Monkey Christ
No copy of this image is currently available to show.
This Moment happened away from the internet before anybody put it online. Originally published on physical.
- SourceNot an upload originally
- MediaNot held by ViralWorld
An amateur restoration in a Spanish village church that the whole world saw, and that saved the village.
What this was
A photo classified under wildlife.
It first appeared in 2012, during the social era.
It is the purest example of local news becoming global comedy overnight, and of a joke that then reversed on itself. The Guardian ran a defence of restoration disasters within a day; El País called it a farce that had gone worldwide. The image was reproduced, animated and photoshopped everywhere, and the phrase "Potato Jesus" entered English.
Borja declined to undo it. Tens of thousands of visitors have since paid to see the fresco, an interpretation centre was built, and Giménez — who died in December 2025 — received a share of the proceeds. A village of five thousand people acquired a tourist industry from a botched afternoon's work.
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Grouped by explicit relationships where evidence exists, and by shared theme otherwise.
What we knowWhere it came from
There is no original upload to identify: this Moment did not begin as one. ViralWorld holds no copy of it either — what it was, when it appeared and what people called it is the record.
Nothing here is claimed to be the first publication of this Moment, because the first publication was not an upload. This Moment happened away from the internet before anybody put it online. Originally published on physical.
Not established. This index only names a creator where the evidence supports it.
- What happens
- A photo classified under wildlife.