Fact Check: Is image showing Jeffrey Epstein dining with Chuck Schumer real?

WASHINGTON, DC: On January 30, the Department of Justice (DOJ) released more than 3 million files related to the federal investigation into disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Following this, an image went viral online purportedly showing the late financier with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. But is there any truth to this image? Let us find out below.

Claim: Image shows Jeffrey Epstein dining with Chuck Schumer

The image went viral on X, where a user shared the image and wrote, "Hey @SenSchumer, this looks EXACTLY LIKE YOU WITH EPSTEIN!"

Similarly, another person shared the image and wrote, "How was dinner @SenSchumer? Asking for a friend."

Interestingly, in the 1990s, Jeffrey Epstein donated around $22,000 to Schumer-related entities. This included seven $1,000 contributions directly to Schumer's campaigns and additional funds to joint fundraising committees like Victory in New York and Win New York.

Meanwhile, these were legal political contributions at the time, before Epstein's later convictions came to light. Schumer's office has stated he would donate an equivalent amount to anti-trafficking groups in response to scrutiny.

Fact check: False, image was created using AI

The claims in the online posts are false, as the image was created using artificial intelligence. The image was initially posted by a parody account on X called @DumbF***Finder.

The account's description notes its use of AI, stating that it aims to 'expose' people who fall for its 'high-quality AI videos and memes'. Similarly, its X bio reads, "DumbF***Finder (DFF) is an AI-powered meme engine that turns stupidity into content. We use AI to create memes, songs, stories, and visuals that call things exactly how they are — fast, loud, and impossible to ignore. If something looks dumb, sounds dumb, or feels off, we turn it into something shareable." 

Moreover, according to Google's AI assistant, Gemini, the image had a SynthID watermark, a technology that identifies content generated by using Google's AI tools.

Apart from that, a reverse-image search also showed that no reputable news media outlets had published the alleged image of Epstein with Chuck Schumer, which would have been newsworthy if it were real. 

The X account @TheSaraTalks, which made the post, has a bio noting 'political parody and commentary' and 'DARK SENSE OF HUMOR,' and in replies to the post, they acknowledge it's AI and meant to 'tell a story' about the donations and unproven allegations, rather than a literal photo.