A document included in the US Department of Justice’s release of Jeffrey Epstein files, photographed on February 2, 2026, shows a diagram prepared by the FBI attempting to chart Epstein’s network of victims and a timeline of their abuse. | Image Credit: AP
Multiple AI-Generated Photos Lying to Show New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani as a Child and Her Mother, a Filmmaker Mira Nair, with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein and his confidant Ghislaine Maxwellalong with other high-profile public figures, was widely shared on social media on Monday (February 2, 2026).
The images originated on the X account, labeled satire, after a large portion of the new Epstein files. It was released by the Department of Justice on Friday (January 30, 2026). They are clearly watermarked as AI and other elements they contain are not included.
Here’s a closer look at the facts.
Claim: The pictures show Mr Mamdani as a child and his mother, Epstein, and other public figures linked to the disgraced financier.
Facts: Images are generated by artificial intelligence. They all feature a digital watermark identifying them and create “high-quality AI videos and memes,” said Satire X on the account.
In one image, Mr. Mamdani and Ms. Nair appear at the front of a group photo with Maxwell, Epstein, former President Bill Clinton, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Microsoft founder Bill Gates. They seem to be posing at night on a busy city street. Mr. Mamdani looks like a teenager or teenager.
Another shows the same group of people, minus Ms. Noir, appears in a tropical setting. Epstein is pictured holding a seated Mr Clinton in her arms, while Maxwell has her arm around a younger-looking Mr Mamdani.
Other AI-generated images circulating online show Mr Mamdani holding a baby as Ms Nair poses with Epstein, Mr Clinton, Maxwell and Mr Bezos.None of Epstein’s victims have publicly accused Mr Clinton, Mr Gates or Mr Bezos of complicity in their crimes.
Google’s Gemini app has detected SynthID, a digital watermarking tool, to identify content created or altered with AI in all the images described above. This means they are created or edited in whole or in part by Google’s AI models.
The X account that first posted the images describes itself as an “AI-powered meme engine” that “uses AI to create memes, songs, stories and visuals – exactly what it calls things – fast, loud and impossible to ignore”.
Inquiries sent to the account went unanswered. However, the account’s post appears to admit that it created the images. “Damn you guys failed,” it read. “I purposely made him look like a kid which technically makes this film 34 years old. Yikes.”
At an after-movie party at Maxwell’s townhouse in 2009, Mr. Clinton, Mr. Bezos and award-winning Indian filmmaker Mr.
While Mr. Mamdani appears as a baby or toddler in all the pictures, he was 18 in 2009, when Ms. Nair is said to have attended a party.
The images have led to related lies circulating online in their wake. For example, one claims that Epstein is Mr. Mamdani’s father. This is not true – Mr. Mamdani’s father is Mahmoud Mamdani, a professor of anthropology at Columbia University.
The NYC mayor’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
Published – February 03, 2026 05:56 pm IST
