WASHINGTON (Realist English). Artificial intelligence image generators can rapidly produce convincing fake photographs showing Jeffrey Epstein alongside world leaders, according to a study published on Thursday, amid a surge in manipulated images falsely linking prominent politicians to the convicted sex offender.
The findings come as social media platforms have seen millions of views on AI-generated images purporting to show Epstein socialising with public figures, including New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani and his mother, award-winning filmmaker Mira Nair, AFP fact-checkers have previously reported.
In the new study, US disinformation watchdog NewsGuard tested three leading AI image generators by prompting them to create photographs of Epstein with five politicians, including US President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and French President Emmanuel Macron.
According to the report, xAI’s image tool Grok Imagine generated “convincing fakes in seconds” involving all five figures. Among them was a lifelike but fabricated image showing a younger Trump and Epstein surrounded by young girls. While Trump has been photographed with Epstein at social events, there is no publicly known image of the two in the presence of underage girls.
The study found that Google’s Gemini system refused to create an image of Epstein with Trump but did generate realistic fake photos depicting Epstein with Netanyahu, Macron, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. The images showed the figures at parties, aboard a private jet and relaxing on a beach.
NewsGuard said the results highlight “the ease with which bad actors can use AI imaging tools to generate realistic-seeming viral fakes”, warning that fabricated images have become so widespread that distinguishing real photographs from AI-generated ones is increasingly difficult.
When prompted to create similar images, OpenAI’s ChatGPT declined, stating it could not generate images involving real people in scenarios implying sexual abuse or the sexualisation of minors.
There was no immediate response from xAI to AFP’s request for comment.
Separately, researchers reviewing fake images involving Mamdani and Nair — which circulated widely on X — detected Google’s SynthID, an invisible digital watermark designed to identify AI-generated content. A Google spokesperson told AFP that SynthID is embedded to help users determine whether content was created using Google’s AI tools.
The study follows the US Justice Department’s release last week of more than three million documents, images and videos related to its investigation into Epstein, who died in custody in 2019 in what was ruled a suicide.
The Epstein case has implicated numerous high-profile figures worldwide, including Britain’s former Prince Andrew and prominent academics and public figures, while also fuelling a wave of online disinformation.
Earlier this week, AFP fact-checkers debunked a fabricated social media post attributed to Trump that claimed he would lift all tariffs on Canada if Prime Minister Mark Carney admitted to involvement with Epstein. AFP said its review of Carney’s mentions in the Epstein files showed no evidence linking him to the alleged crimes.
