Fact Check: Did Macaulay Culkin say Michael Jackson 'saved' him from Epstein?
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Following the release of a massive tranche of documents related to the convicted offender Jeffrey Epstein, a video has been circulating on social media platforms claiming that actor Macaulay Culkin said in a video that late pop star Michael Jackson saved him from Epstein. Let us analyze the video and fact-check the claim.
Claim: Macaulay Culkin said Michael Jackson saved him from Epstein
In the viral video, Culkin described his friendship with Michael Jackson, stating, “I'll never forget that Michael Jackson saved me from getting on a plane to that tiny island."
A voiceover in the same video stated, “They're saying Neverland is where Michael Jackson took children to protect them from what was being done on Epstein's island.
Because he was going against their regime, they punished him, and they flipped the script and made it appear as though he was the one abusing them […], and you have celebrities like Macaulay Culkin who has gone on the record to defend Michael Jackson.”
The video has spread across several social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and Reddit.
Fact Check: False, the clip's audio is AI-generated
According to several AI detection tools, the clip's audio appears to be generated by artificial intelligence, and there is no evidence of Culkin speaking about Epstein in any interview.
An AI detector available through DeepFake-O-Meter rated the likelihood that the audio was AI-generated as very high.
Another tool, Deepfake Total, gave the audio clip a 96.9% chance of being AI-generated.
The video is suspicious because it does not show Culkin actually making the alleged statement. Instead, it appears to use old footage with a fake voiceover to create that impression.
The rest of the clip relies on unrelated footage and a third-party narration, which even admits the claims may not be true and asks viewers to fact-check them.
Also, a Google search for Culkin’s alleged quote about Epstein's island found no reputable news outlets reporting it.
Release of millions of documents linked to Jeffrey Epstein
The claim surfaced after the Department of Justice released millions of documents related to the disgraced financier on January 30.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said the release also included more than 2,000 videos and 180,000 images.
The release came after weeks of criticism that the department was not following a federal law passed in November, which required all Epstein-related files to be made public by December 19.
Numerous individuals listed are mentioned in flight logs, interviews, third-party communications, or ancillary investigative documents without being accused of any criminal activity.
