A real photograph involving Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein has recently reignited online debate, but not for the reasons many people believe.
While the original image is genuine, a widely shared version claiming to show the “uncensored” faces of women standing next to Trump has been proven to be artificially generated using AI.
The controversy follows renewed scrutiny of Epstein-related material, including claims of political suppression that the US Justice Department has publicly denied amid growing speculation surrounding Trump-linked images.
Those denials have done little to slow the spread of misleading visuals online.
What Is the Real Photo and Where Did It Come From?
On 12 December, Democratic lawmakers in the United States released 19 photographs taken from the files of Jeffrey Epstein, the late New York financier and convicted sex offender who died in prison in 2019.
The images date back mainly to the 1990s and show a range of well-known figures, including Donald Trump, Bill Gates, Woody Allen, and Steve Bannon. Importantly, none of the photos show criminal activity or illegal behaviour.
One image, however, drew particular attention. It shows Trump standing with six women wearing Hawaiian leis, believed to have been taken at Mar-a-Lago around 1998. The women’s faces were deliberately blacked out before release to protect their identities.
Why Were the Faces Blacked Out?
The faces were censored for privacy reasons, a standard editorial practice when private individuals appear in sensitive material. However, some pro-Trump social media users argued that the redaction was politically motivated.
They claimed the black boxes were used to imply the women were underage, despite no evidence supporting such an allegation. This claim quickly gained traction on platforms such as Instagram and X.
Did Social Media Users Really Reveal the “Uncensored” Image?
Two days later, on 14 December, an image began circulating online that allegedly showed the women’s uncovered faces.
A viral Instagram post, which attracted thousands of likes, claimed the image proved the women were adult models working for Hawaiian Tropic.
While the background claim about the women’s profession is broadly accurate, the image itself is not.
How Do We Know the Image Was Generated by AI?
Digital verification tools and image analysis show the circulating “uncensored” image was not a real photograph. Several details give this away.
Donald Trump’s right hand appears physically distorted, a common flaw in AI-generated images. The original photograph includes six women, yet the AI version only shows five.
There is also a visible logo in the corner linked to Google’s AI image generator, and Google Lens identifies the image as AI-created.
In short, the AI did not “reveal” anything hidden. It invented faces that were never there.
What Does the Genuine Uncensored Photo Show?
On the same day the files were released, the New York Post published what it described as the original, uncensored photograph.
That image shows:
- All six women are clearly visible
- Facial features that do not match the AI-generated image
- A sixth woman, missing from the fake version, standing to Trump’s left
The comparison confirms that the viral image circulating online was fabricated.
Why Is AI “Uncensoring” Images So Dangerous?
Open-source intelligence analyst Tal Hagin warned on X that using AI to enhance redacted images is deeply misleading: “AI does not recover hidden details. It hallucinates them. It fills in gaps based on patterns, not reality.”
Because the fake image is based on a real event, it appears more believable than a fully fabricated picture. This makes it particularly effective at misleading audiences.
Who Were the Women in the Photo?
According to reporting by The Telegraph, the women were Hawaiian Tropic promotional models attending an event at Mar-a-Lago.
One woman interviewed by the paper said she was 22 years old at the time and described Trump’s behaviour as that of a “gentleman”.
Again, there is no evidence linking the image to any criminal wrongdoing.
