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I don't know what this picture is about, but why vent holes on a mask!? Companies that sold these specifically to counter pandemic-era infection should be fined...
Masks like these existed before the pandemic. This one was likely designed for sanding wood or general dust, so clean exhaust isn't necessary.
It's used for venting out breath so it won't fog up the glasses, good for dusty environment, definitely not for when you're sick.
It’s probably for the smell. The plant is rafflesia arnoldii, which smells of rotting meat to attract flies as pollinators.
If it's like other masks I've seen there is a flap or rubber gasket in there that acts as a one way valve. The US military uses M-50s and that's how they work too
It's normally closed. When you breathe in the air is drawn through the mask filter. When you breathe out the pressure pushes the flap open. When your exhale stops there isn't enough pressure to keep it open and the flap seals up again.
Why would these be sold to counter infection?
That's entirely my point, though I probably didn't make it well. Maybe not this particular one, but all throughout the pandemic I saw people wearing similar Amazon/Facebook/AliExpress ones with vent holes, many stylized in other ways.
In other words, they sold products with specific aesthetic choices that made them less suitable for protecting yourself and others (obviously the entire reason mask sales skyrocketed during the pandemic), but made them more attractive to consumers exactly when we needed to protect each other. That's profiteering.