The newest batch of documents tied to the investigation of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has ignited online controversy, featuring AI-created and altered images allegedly showing him with politicians. Many of these are fabricated.
The US Department of Justice’s disclosure of an additional 3 million pages related to Jeffrey Epstein, convicted for sex offenses, has fueled extensive conjecture about his extensive network involving wealthy and influential individuals.
This collection, comprising images, videos, text messages, and emails, has also sparked a surge of false information, including AI-generated pictures portraying a young Zohran Mamdani, New York’s mayor, alongside Epstein.
One manipulated photo depicts Mamdani as a child with his mother, Mira Nair, alongside Epstein’s associate Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein himself, Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, and Jeff Bezos.
The fact-checkers at Euronews, known as The Cube, analyzed these photos with Google Gemini after noticing inconsistencies. The AI chatbot revealed a SynthID embedded—a subtle watermark developed by Google to recognize AI-crafted content.
This image carries a «DFF» watermark. The Cube carried out a reverse image search and linked it to an X account named @DumbFckFinder, which declares itself a «parody account».
This account has circulated numerous photos showing politicians with Epstein in implausible scenarios, like one featuring Epstein and the late British theoretical astrophysicist Stephen Hawking, with Hawking reportedly scuba diving into a “secret tunnel.”
Alongside these images, some social media users propagated extravagant theories, such as claiming Epstein was Mamdani’s father, based on perceived facial similarities.
Mamdani’s name appears five times in the Epstein documents. Yet, these references relate solely to newspaper clippings and not to any alleged misconduct. There is no proof that Epstein ever communicated or wrote about Mamdani.
Numerous AI-created photos were circulated on social media alongside an email from US publicist Peggy Siegal to Epstein dating to October 2009, included in the files.
In this email, Siegal mentions Mamdani’s mother while discussing the afterparty for her film «Amelia,» which took place at Ghislaine Maxwell’s New York townhouse in 2009. The correspondence indicates Epstein did not attend the screening.
At the time of the screening, Mamdani would have been 17 years old, not an infant as some AI-manipulated images falsely portray.
The parody account appeared to admit to deliberately making the subject appear as a baby, noting the online attention these images received: «Damn you guys failed. I purposefully made him a baby.»
On February 4, Mamdani addressed the images, stating that «on a personal level, it is profoundly challenging to encounter images known to be fabricated, blatantly photoshopped and AI-generated, yet capable of spreading globally amid an era dominated by misinformation.»
Did these photos mislead you?
Another image circulating purports to show Epstein with British politician Nigel Farage, leader of the far-right Reform UK, and was noticed by the Wrexham Labour Party group on X after extensive online sharing.
The photo depicts Epstein and Farage with arms around each other in a domestic setting, shared with captions such as «I won’t be voting for Farage or Reform» and «A picture paints a thousand words» on platforms including X and Threads.
The Wrexham Labour Party group has since removed the image.
The files contain no evidence of meetings or direct exchanges between Epstein and Farage.
References to Farage are limited to newspaper cuttings and to conversations about him in the context of UK politics by Steve Bannon, a former White House strategist who frequently discussed Europe’s far-right parties with Epstein, according to the document batch.
Farage told Sky News Australia that he «never met Epstein and never went to the island.» He was referencing Little Saint James, commonly called «Epstein Island» — Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands, allegedly used for underage sex trafficking operations.
Attempts by AI-detection tools failed to conclusively classify the image as AI-generated.
The Cube employed Google Gemini to test for a SynthID watermark but found none. Other AI detection systems also offered inconclusive results.
Signs suggestive of AI manipulation include uneven lighting inconsistent with shadows on Epstein’s and Farage’s faces, along with unnaturally aligned shirt collars.
Russian Bots Target Macron
Separately, the Ukrainian Center for Countering Disinformation, affiliated with Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council, identified the «Matryoshka» bot network distributing falsified French newspaper covers linking French President Emmanuel Macron to Epstein.
One fabricated cover, imitating the French daily Libération, asks, «What was Emmanuel Macron doing 18 times on Epstein’s island when he served as France’s Minister of the Economy?»
There is no record of Libération publishing such a story.
Although Macron’s name appears in the documents, there is no proof of direct communication between him and Epstein; most references are third-party accounts. There is no indication that Macron was involved in Epstein’s crimes.