On January 12, Facebook users Levan Tavdishvilii and Annoi Antidze disseminated a photo of a man wearing a dress along with information claiming that the European Parliament is creating an investigative commission on the elections held in Georgia. According to the text, the commission will be headed by German MEP Klaus Hoffman. The posts also include a quote from Klaus Hoffman about the support of the Georgian people in the process of Euro-Atlantic integration.
The authors of the posts are spreading visual manipulation. The man in the photo is not the head of the commission created in the European Parliament but an American model Mark Bryan. The European Parliament has not created an investigative commission regarding the elections held in Georgia. A German politician named Klaus Hoffman cannot be found on the list of Bundestag members or European Parliament members.
In reality, the man wearing the dress, shown in the photo, is in reality actually Mark Bryan, who lives in Germany and has repeatedly attracted media attention with his distinctive style in the past as well. He is not a politician but a robotics engineer, American football coach, and model. Mark Bryan, who is heterosexual, is married and has three children. His unique style, which is supported by his wife, involves wearing high-heeled shoes and dresses.
According to Mark Bryan, clothing should not be associated with gender, and he feels happy when given the opportunity to wear both men’s and women’s clothing:
“I see clothes as genderless, and I love the freedom I get from being able to wear both men’s and women’s clothes.”
markbryan911
markbryan911
As for the creation of an investigative commission in the European Parliament regarding the elections held in Georgia, this information is not confirmed by open sources. Georgian opposition parties are requesting an investigation into the election process under international leadership, but a decision on this matter has not been made yet. On November 18, the parties addressed a joint letter to the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, and the foreign ministers of EU member states, requesting such an investigation. However, the European Union has not created any type of investigative commission so far.
As the authors of the post claim, the commission will be headed by German MEP Klaus Hoffman. It is noteworthy that no deputy by this name can be found either in the Bundestag of Germany or in the European Parliament.
The statement attributed to the fictional MEP Klaus Hoffman actually belongs to the Helsinki Commission and was published in October 2024.
False information about Mark Bryan has also been spread in the past. The author of the post, Levan Tavdishvilii, previously claimed that Mark Bryan was a senior officer of NATO.
About the sources:
Levan Tavdishvilii, who has spread the visual manipulation, regularly posts anti-Western content and conspiracy theories. Myth Detector has fact-checked several false claims spread by him in the past.
The visual manipulation was also spread by the account Annoi Antidze, which is the new profile of Facebook user Irakli Antidze. Myth Detector has fact-checked disinformation spread by him in the past.
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