In July and August 2025, a video shared widely online purported to show U.S. President Donald Trump and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein at a social gathering with young girls. The clip touched on rumors that have persisted for years about Trump's ties to Epstein, who died by suicide in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges.
One Instagram post (archived) making the claim had more than 312,000 likes:
The video's caption read, in part:
On several occasions, old videos have surfaced showing Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein together at social gatherings and events. These clips typically date back to the 1990s and early 2000s when both men moved in similar elite circles in New York and Florida. While some footage shows them interacting at parties or public functions, the context and authenticity of certain videos remain questionable. […] The ambiguity surrounding these videos has led to widespread speculation online, despite the absence of verified evidence showing inappropriate behavior.
The purported footage spread across multiple platforms, including Facebook, X, YouTube and Threads.
However, the video was not authentic. It was based on a real photograph taken in 1997, but was most likely generated using artificial intelligence tools. The original image showed Trump, Epstein and Belgian model Ingrid Seynhaeve attending a Victoria's Secret party in New York City. No children appeared in the original photo. As such, we've rated this claim as fake.
How the video was created
TinEye reverse image search results led us to a 2017 Reddit post (archived) titled "New photo surfaces of Trump with paedophile Epstein at Victoria's Secret lingerie party in 1997." The post featured what appeared to be a photograph of a printed page and credited the image to photographer Marina Garnier.
(Reddit u/DrDuplicitous)
The photograph likely originated from the 2017 book "Filthy Rich: The Shocking True Story of Jeffrey Epstein – The Billionaire's Sex Scandal." On Page 222 of the PDF version, the image was captioned: "Jeffrey Epstein, Donald Trump, and (newly signed Trump Model) Ingrid Seynhaeve, attending the Victoria's Secret Angels party at Laura Belle club in New York City on April 8, 1997 (Marina Garnier)." This caption matched the text partially visible in the Reddit post, suggesting the user had photographed a page from the book.
("Filthy Rich: The Shocking True Story of Jeffrey Epstein – The Billionaire's Sex Scandal")
The New York Post also published a seemingly enhanced version of the photo with the caption: "Donald Trump, Jeffrey Epstein and Ingrid Segrhaeve chat it up at Victoria's Secret Lingerie Party in 1997. PAY PER USE." However, it did not cite a source for the image.
As of this writing, we were unable to verify additional details about the original photograph or its origin.
Several other photographs from the 1997 Victoria's Secret event featuring Trump were available through Getty Images. In these images, both Trump and Seynhaeve were wearing the same outfits as in the photo that appeared to have been used to generate the fake video.
(Getty Images)
Overall, the video in question displayed multiple signs of AI generation, including unnaturally smooth skin textures, unrealistic facial expressions and awkward movements. These characteristics indicated that the original 1997 photograph was likely transformed into a video using AI tools that applied motion to the still image and inserted a fabricated scene showing underage girls.
Independent fact-checking organizations, including Italian Open.Online and BBC Verify, also analyzed the clip and reached the conclusion that the footage was AI-generated.
In July 2025, we debunked a similar AI-generated video, allegedly showing Trump pointing at a preteen girl while standing with Ghislaine Maxwell, the former associate of Epstein. For broader context, check out our collection of 23 rumors we've examined regarding Trump and Epstein's relationship.