Debunk: Was an MEP caught snorting cocaine during public meeting?

Twitter customers have accused a Member of the European Parliament of being caught red-handed snorting cocaine throughout a public assembly. 

The declare was shared hundreds of occasions in quite a few languages on Twitter. One English-speaking user mentioned: “Exceptional to see a member of the European Parliament utilizing cocaine throughout a gathering.”

Within the video clip, a person is seen sniffing some form of substance from his hand. The Dice determined to take a more in-depth take a look at these allegations and we discovered them to be deceptive. 

By conducting a reverse picture search, Euronews recognized the particular person within the video as Jens Maier, a former choose and German politician (member of the far-right populist celebration AfD). 

He was by no means a member of European Parliament however was a part of the German Bundestag till 2021. 

Based on German media, Jens Maier misplaced his judgeship in 2022 as a result of he was deemed a right-wing extremist and will not be a “credible consultant of the judiciary.” 

Euronews discovered the unique video which was taken from a information report by ARD, a German regional public TV channel. The topic is whether or not AfD politicians may very well be civil servants on the similar time. 

When you take a more in-depth look between 04:42 till 05:08, you may see Maier sitting within the German parliament corridor. As a result of prime quality of the video, it is clear to see that the substance on his hand is of a brown color.

A number of social media customers famous the substance is most definitely to be snuff, which is a dry smokeless product made out of finely floor tobacco leaves.

It’s historically inhaled via the nostril and is authorized for private use in Germany and in different European nations. 

In an interview with German TV, Jens Maier even defined his largest weaknesses are “fried potatoes and snuff.”