Kamala Harris with Jeffrey Epstein? No, images are altered | Fact check
The claim: Images show Kamala Harris with Jeffrey Epstein
A July 24 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) appears to show two images of Vice President Kamala Harris with the late disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
"Might surprise a few people," reads the post's caption. "Yes they were all rubbing elbows back in the day. Share it make it viral."
The post was shared more than 300 times in five days. Similar posts were shared on X, formerly Twitter.
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Our rating: Altered
The image on the left was generated by artificial intelligence, according to an expert and an AI-detection tool. The image on the right has been altered from a photo of Harris with her husband Doug Emhoff.
Images of Harris posing with Epstein are altered
The images in the post are not legitimate. They've both been altered to make it appear as if Harris and Epstein were photographed together.
The image on the left, which appears to show Harris and Epstein at a beach, includes several elements consistent with AI-generated images, according to James O’Brien, a computer science professor at the University of California, Berkeley.
The image is blurred in odd places, O'Brien said, including above Harris' head and around her back, and a strange texture is covering Epstein's arm.
O'Brien also pointed out that Harris' ear appears to be noticeably smaller than her ears in legitimate images.
"It’s a small detail that’s easy to miss, but small or not, details must match reality," he said.
Fact check: Yesterday, today, tomorrow quote isn't from Kamala Harris
Hive Moderation's AI detection tool determined the image is 99.3% likely to contain AI-generated or deepfake content, and that it's 95% likely to have been created with the program Stable Diffusion.
"These images are getting better, and it is increasingly harder to point out clear problems," O'Brien said. "All of the issues I pointed out could have been corrected by a person who was a skilled photo editor."
The image on the right, which appears to show Harris and Epstein posing together, has circulated online for years – and has already been debunked by USA TODAY's fact-checking team. The original, taken Sept. 17, 2015, by photographer Jerod Harris, shows Kamala Harris with Emhoff while attending an event at The Broad art museum in Los Angeles.
The altered version of the image uses Epstein's face from a mugshot taken by the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Department. Epstein, a wealthy hedge fund manager, was arrested July 6, 2019, and faced federal charges for allegedly trafficking minors. He pleaded not guilty and was found dead in his jail cell about a month later.
Harris has emerged as the Democratic Party’s presumptive nominee for president following President Joe Biden's exit from the race.
USA TODAY reached out to the social media user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Our fact-check sources:
James O'Brien, July 26, Email exchange with USA TODAY
Hive Moderation, July 26, Hive Moderation results
USA TODAY, Sept. 8, 2021, Fact check: Image of Kamala Harris and Doug Emhoff altered to show Jeffrey Epstein
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Altered images of Kamala Harris and Jeffrey Epstein | Fact check