CLAIM

Viral image of New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, mother Mira Nair, with Jeffrey Epstein and Bill Clinton

RATING JUSTIFICATION

The iVerify Pakistan team investigated this content and determined that it is false.

To reach this conclusion, iVerify Pakistan conducted a reverse image search to trace the original source of the photo and analysed it using AI-detection tools.

Multiple users across social media platforms since January 31, 2026, were sharing a photo allegedly showing New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani and his mother, Mira Nair, with late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and former US president Bill Clinton. However, the image is doctored through AI.

Last week, a fresh cache of files was released related to the investigation into Epstein, containing documents that refer to numerous high-profile figures. President Donald Trump, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and SpaceX founder Elon Musk are among some of the people named in the documents. The documents were published following a deadline mandated by a bipartisan congressional law requiring the public release of all files related to Epstein.

The disclosure offers a sprawling look into the elite circles Epstein inhabited before his death, implicating prominent figures in politics, business and entertainment. The documents mention Mamdani’s mother, a well-known filmmaker, in connection with a 2009 “after-party” for a film at Epstein’s co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell’s townhouse, which was referenced in an email.

HOW IT STARTED

On Jan 31, a parody account on X shared an image of Nair standing next to Bill Clinton and Esptein while holding a young Mamdani in her arms.

The caption of the post read: “Mira Nair holding her baby Zohran Mamdani with Bill and Jeff, aka Mira Nair holding a little terrorist with two big terrorists.” It racked up 2.6 million views.

Later that night, American actor and right-wing podcaster Michael Rapaport also shared the photo. “Mira Nair holding her baby, Zohran Mamdani, with Bill and Epstein. Yeah….read that again…. RAPAPORT for Mayor of NYC 2029,” he wrote in the post, which amassed 658,500 views.

The image was subsequently shared by other X users, as seen here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here; collectively garnering about 860,000 views.

The photo was also widely shared on other social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, and Threads, as seen here, here, here, here and here.

METHODOLOGY

A fact check was initiated to determine the veracity of the claim due to its virality and keen public interest in the investigation into Epstein’s files.

A reverse image search on the viral image did not yield any credible reports or releases that ran the photo.

Similarly, a keyword search did not yield any credible evidence that showed the photo was released by the US authorities.

A closer inspection of the image revealed visual inconsistencies such as glossy and overly smooth texture and artificially blurred backgrounds, which are common to AI-generated content.

Analysing the photo through AI-detection tools such as Fake Image Detector and Truth Scan flagged it as “computer-generated or modified” and had a probability of “97 per cent fake”, respectively. Undetectable AI, another tool, gave the image a 3pc rating of being real.

Moreover, iVerify Pakistan checked the photo for SynthID — a watermark embedded in all content generated by Google’s AI tools — through Gemini. “Based on my analysis, this image was created or edited using Google’s AI tools,” it said, noting that the image appears to “be a composite of several individuals”.

“While it may look like a candid photograph, certain visual characteristics and technical markers indicate that AI was used to generate or modify the content,” it added.

Separately, several social media users also flagged the image as being a fake.

They also pointed out that Mamdani was born in 1991, while the mail about Nair attending the party was from 2009. “Mamdani would be 18 years old by the time, and not a child as the images show,” one said.

FACT-CHECK STATUS: FALSE

The claim that a viral image shows Zohran Mamdani and his mother alongside Bill Clinton and Jeffrey Epstein is false.

The photo is fake.

EVIDENCES AND REFERENCES

X post, Feb 1, 2026:

https://x.com/r_barath/status/2017868004915351810

X post, Feb 1, 2026:

https://x.com/JosetteCaruso\_/status/2017721556315840684