Image allegedly shows young Mamdani with Epstein, Maxwell, Clinton, Gates and Bezos. Don't be fooled

In July 2026, an image (archived) circulated online purportedly showing a young Zohran Mamdani, New York's mayor, standing at a beach with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell, former U.S. President Bill Clinton and tech billionaires Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos.

For example, one X user shared the alleged photo on July 3, 2026, writing (archived), "Is that you @NYCMayor?"

(@DanielGilr44222, accessed via X)

Other popular versions of the image circulated on X (archived) and Threads (archived), dating back to January 2026.

Although some readers seemed to believe the alleged picture depicted a real-life event, it is fake.

It originated from @DumbFxckFinder, an X account that says it publishes "AI-powered ... videos & memes" (archived). The X page first shared the image (archived) on Jan. 31, 2026. 

Google's Gemini artificial intelligence assistant detected a SynthID watermark in the image, indicating the X account used Google's tools to create or edit the fake image.

To note its source, @DumbFxckFinder's original post includes two digitally added labels: a small "DFF" in the upper left and right corners. Those markings are not visible in the post that circulated in July 2026.

We reached out to a manager of the @DumbFxckFinder account for their response to the fact that some people thought the image was real. We will update this story if we receive a response. 

Snopes previously reported on another fake photo that originated from an account called @DumbFckFinder that purportedly showed a young Mamdani with his mother, Epstein, Maxwell, Clinton, Gates and Bezos. We established that the @DumbFxckFinder account originally had the @DumbFckFinder handle. Our previous reporting showed that it used to label itself as a parody account, which is why we concluded that the other fake photo, purportedly featuring Mamdani's mother, originated as satire.

Aside from the SynthID watermark, the image contains other signs of being AI-generated. For example Gates, who seems to have a hand on Bezos' shoulder, appears to be missing his little finger from his left hand. Epstein, who appears to be holding Clinton in a seated position, is making less of an impression on Clinton's legs than he would have done if he were actually holding him.

Gates' collar also looks like it has a stray button or buttonhole below his collar (on the left side, from his perspective). 

(@DumbFxckFinder, accessed via X)

Additionally, Mamdani was born in 1991. Assuming the fake photograph is meant to show him at around 10 years old, it incorrectly depicts Bezos as mostly bald. The Amazon owner still had hair in 2001, according to a photo the reputable picture agency Getty Images published that year.

Snopes routinely debunks AI fakes and investigates rumors involving Mamdani.