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AI Watermarks and Parody Account Unmask Fake Photos Linking NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani to Jeffrey Epstein

Official records from the recent DOJ release include only a 2009 email referencing filmmaker Mira Nair, with no photos or allegations involving her or her son.

Overview

  • Google’s Gemini detected SynthID watermarks indicating the viral images were generated or edited by artificial intelligence.
  • The pictures originated on X from the parody account DFF, which acknowledged fabricating at least one of the posts.
  • Reviews of the DOJ materials found no photos of Mamdani; the files contain only a 2009 social email mentioning his mother, and Mamdani was 18 that year.
  • The circulation of the AI images fueled additional false claims, including a debunked allegation that Epstein was Mamdani’s father, whose father is Mahmood Mamdani.
  • Experts caution that while watermarks and forensic cues can expose many AI fakes today, advancing generative tools may make such detection less reliable.