Throughout February 2026, an image circulated online purportedly showing former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton pulling on the tie of disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein as former U.S. President Bill Clinton is laughing.
For example, one X user who posted the alleged photo wrote (archived), "I never met Jeffrey Epstein."
The X user's caption appeared to reference Hillary Clinton's Feb. 26 deposition to Congress, during which she said (archived), "I do not recall ever encountering Mr. Epstein."
(X user @Oceanbreeze473)
The picture spread widely on X and also appeared on Facebook, while Snopes readers contacted us to ask if the alleged photo authentically showed Epstein and the Clintons.
A reverse image search revealed the picture began circulating on Feb. 1, 2026, when the X account @PapiTrumpo first posted (archived) the highest quality version of the image. The post includes a false claim that it came from the Department of Justice's release of more than 3 million files related to its investigation into Epstein.
The bio of the PapiTrumpo account says the page features "a little bit of parody" and the profile includes a "Parody account" label (archived). Therefore, we found this image originated as satire.
Snopes contacted a manager of the account for comment on the satirical image. We will update this article if we receive a reply.
According to Gemini, Google's generative artificial intelligence model, the picture contains SynthID, a digital watermark that Google adds to all its AI-generated content.
Aside from this watermark, two people in the background of the image have misshapen fingers, a classic sign of AI use.
(X user @PapiTrumpo)
While Hillary Clinton claimed she did not recall ever meeting Epstein, her husband Bill Clinton has long been linked with the financier, who died in a Manhattan prison cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. An FBI investigation found that Epstein committed suicide.
For further reading, Snopes has reported extensively on both AI-generated content and the Epstein files.