Following the recent release of a new batch of Jeffrey Epstein-related documents by the United States Justice Department, a series of photographs has surfaced on social media claiming to show New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and his mother, filmmaker Mira Nair, in the company of the late sex offender and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell.
The images, which depict a young Mamdani alongside Epstein, former US President Bill Clinton, and Bill Gates, have been widely circulated to target the newly sworn-in mayor.
BOOM found that the claim is false. While Mira Nair’s name is mentioned in the latest file release in connection with a 2009 film screening after-party, the photographs themselves are AI-generated deepfakes.
The Claim
The images are being shared on X and Facebook with captions suggesting that Mayor Mamdani and his mother were part of Epstein’s inner circle. One prominent post wrote, "Seems like Jeffrey Epstein was a significant part of the childhood of New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani." (archive) Some posts even suggested that these photos indicate the possibility of Epstein being Mamdani's father (link).
What We Found
BOOM's analysis confirmed that the viral photos are sophisticated fabrications and do not represent real-world events or associations.
1. Images Traced to Parody Source: The visuals were first circulated (here and here) on social media by a parody account known for using AI to create memes and visual content. The images shared by this account falsely depict high-profile individuals together using artificial intelligence.
2. SynthID Watermark Confirms AI Generation: BOOM ran the images through Google's SynthID detector, which indicated that "most or all of the content was created or edited using Google’s AI models."
3. DAU analysis confirms the same: BOOM consulted with its partners at the Deepfakes Analysis Unit (DAU), who processed the images through multiple AI detection tools. Their analysis corroborated our findings, specifically identifying the presence of SynthID watermarks within the metadata of the photographs.
4. Misleading Context of Document Release: The timing of the images coincides with the public release of investigative documents related to Jeffrey Epstein. While official records do mention Mira Nair in the context of a 2009 film screening after-party, there is no evidence in the documents to support the existence of the specific meetings or relationships depicted in the viral AI images.
