FACT CHECK: Does This Photo Show Beto O’Rourke With ‘Vegan’ And ‘Queer’ Painted On His Body?
An image shared on Facebook allegedly shows presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke with words painted on his body, including “atheist,” “queer” and “vegan.”
“Remind everyone of this pic when this fool says he is gonna run for president,” reads the caption.
Verdict: False
The image, taken in June 2016, shows an attendee of a gay pride parade in Athens, Greece, not O’Rourke.
Fact Check:
The image circulated early Thursday morning after O’Rourke, the former representative of Texas’s 16th congressional district, participated in night one of the first Democratic presidential debate.
“Anyone watch the debates tonight?” the post asks.
It previously made the rounds on social media back in February when his candidacy was still tentative. The picture allegedly shows O’Rourke nearly naked with words painted onto his body, such as “feminist,” “non-binary” and “naturist.”
Though this person may bear a passing resemblance to O’Rourke, the photo does not show the presidential hopeful. It actually shows a participant in a gay pride parade that happened in Athens, Greece, several years ago. Photographer Giorgos Georgiou captured a similar image, dated June 11, 2016, at that parade.
As it turns out, O’Rourke spoke at the El Paso High School commencement ceremony on the same date, FactCheck.org discovered, so it is impossible that he was in Greece at the time of the parade.
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