Following the U.S. Department of Justice's Jan. 30 release of more than 3 million files related to the federal investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, an image spread online purportedly showing the late financier with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
The picture circulated primarily on X, where one user wrote:
Some social media users seemed to believe the photo authentically depicted Epstein with Schumer. However, in some posts where the picture was not cropped, the image included the acronym "DFF" in the top left corner. That acronym linked the alleged photograph to a parody account on X called @DumbFckFinder that used artificial intelligence to generate the image.
Thus, this claim originated as satire.
The account description notes its use of AI, saying it aims to "expose" people who fall for its "high quality AI videos and memes."
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.
According to Google's AI assistant, Gemini, the image had a SynthID watermark, a type of technology that identifies content generated using Google's AI tools. A reverse-image search also revealed that no reputable news media outlets had published the picture, which would have been newsworthy if it were real.
Snopes has addressed similar satirical claims about Epstein's rumored associates in the past, including a fake photo appearing to show the sex offender with Reform UK leader Nigel Farage.
For background, here is why we alert readers to rumors created by sources that call their output humorous or satirical.