Fact Check: Viral photos of Kamala Harris posing with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein are digitally altered

Viral photograph of U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris is causing a stir on social media. In the image, Harris is seen posing with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges. Social media users have shared the image with various claims.

Claim 1

We found a user who shared the image with the caption “BREAKING: Federal judge orders more than 150 names linked to Jeffrey Epstein unsealed. One of those names, Kamala Harris”.

Claim 2

Another user shared a photograph in which Kamala Harris and Jeffrey Epstein are both wearing swimsuits and posing for a picture.

Fact check: We found the claim is false. The first viral image was digitally altered, while the second one is AI-generated.

Claim 1

During the investigation, we found a user who posted a photograph of Kamala Harris with her husband. The user mentioned, “No, because neither Kamala Harris nor Joe Biden have ever been pictured with Jeffrey Epstein. The 'best' that you can find are blatant fakes based on these real pictures".

If you observe the original picture and compare it to the viral one, you can see the similarity except for the head part of Kamala Harris’s husband, Douglas Emhoff.

During the reverse image search, we found a series of the Kamala & Douglas images that were uploaded in Getty images. The images are shared with the caption “The Broad Museum Black Tie Inaugural Dinner LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 17: Douglas Emhoff and Kamala Harris attend The Broad Museum Black Tie Inaugural Dinner at The Broad on September 17, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jerod Harris/Getty Images)”

It proves the viral image is digitally altered. In the original photograph, Kamala Harris is posing with her husband, Douglas Emhoff.

Claim 2

As the viral image looked quite unnatural, we tested it using an AI detection tool, “Is It AI.” The results showed the image is 99.53% AI-generated.

This proves the viral image is not real; it is 99.53% AI-generated. 

Hence, we found both claims are false. The viral image has been digitally altered. The original image shows Kamala Harris with her husband, Douglas Emhoff, captured during The Broad Museum Black Tie Inaugural Dinner in 2015 in Los Angeles. The second image was AI-generated.