Several companies have been helping migrants apply for UK visas under the government’s Global Talent program by creating fake art portfolios, complete with fake published art criticism and art news, according to a new investigation published by the BBC Friday.
Nigerian art critic Molara Wood told the publication that she had found her name attached to fake online reviews praising the works of two obscure artists, just one instance of the materials created.
“There is a real problem whereupon fake articles are being implanted onto newspaper websites using bylines of reputable culture journalists,” Wood told the BBC. Following the BBC’s investigation, two Nigerian men’s visas are in the process of being revoked, according to the Home Office. The two claimed to be fine art photographers in their visa applications.
