FACT CHECK: Viral Image Of Epstein And Trump Sitting Next To Each Other On Plane Is AI-Generated
A viral image shared on X purports to show late financier Jeffrey Epstein and President-elect Donald Trump sitting next to each other on a plane.
Sounds like just a night out for these guys. pic.twitter.com/lgHW9EzVKZ
— 1stBitcoin (@1stUnity) December 3, 2024
Verdict: False
The claim is false, as the image has been generated with artificial intelligence (AI). A media forensics and AI expert denied the image’s authenticity to Check Your Fact in an email.
Fact Check:
Trump recently met with French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Paris to discuss ending the war in Ukraine, according to Axios. Macron reportedly convinced Trump to hold the joint meeting with Zelenskyy, the outlet reported.
The X image, viewed over 60,000 times as of writing, purports to show Epstein and Trump sitting next to each other on a plane. The image was shared by user @1stUnity in response to a post from Caitlyn Jenner weighing in on Kash Patel, Trump’s nominee for director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
The claim is false. Check Your Fact conducted a content detection scan using the website “TrueMedia.org,” and the results indicate the image shows “substantial evidence of manipulation.” The results of the same scan reveal the image is AI-generated, with Midjourney being the likely program used to create the image. Similarly, a content detection scan using “Hive Moderation” shows the image is 99.8% likely AI-generated.
Screenshot captured via Hive Moderation
In addition, Trump has not publicly commented on the image via his official website, his TRUTH Social account, or his verified social media accounts. (RELATED: Has Donald Trump Ordered The Nigerian Government To Release Political Activist Nnamdi Kanu?)
Check Your Fact also did not find the image referenced in any credible news reports about Epstein or Trump. Actually, the opposite is true. On Dec. 9, Snopes debunked the claim, reporting the image was AI-generated. According to the outlet, “numerous X users have posted the image throughout 2024,” with one such instance being in August 2024.
Furthermore, Dr. Walter Scheirer, a media forensics and AI expert at the University of Notre Dame, denied the image’s authenticity to Check Your Fact via email.
“This is a fake AI-generated image that has been circulating on social media for a long time. The image is of very poor quality, with Epstein depicted as having three legs. This kind of artifact was commonly associated with early generative image synthesis models,” Scheirer said.
