The most viral Jeffrey Epstein conspiracy theories, debunked
CBSN
You can't go on social media these days without being served outlandish conspiracy theories about the Epstein files. The posts have racked up millions of views. But in the age of AI, it can be hard to parse out what's real from what isn't. In:
You can't go on social media these days without being served outlandish conspiracy theories about the Epstein files. The posts have racked up millions of views. But in the age of AI, it can be hard to parse out what's real from what isn't.
So we worked with our CBS News Confirmed team to understand what, if anything, underpins the most viral conspiracy theories about Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell and their supposed ties to some of the biggest news stories in American history. Here's what we found.
You may have seen photos circulating on social media that purport to show Epstein walking around Tel Aviv, flanked by bodyguards. When investigated, though, we found these photos show obvious marks of being produced through AI.
For example, this photo posted on Reddit on Feb. 1 shows a Gemini AI watermark on the bottom right corner, and one of the signs in the background reads "Haangus Ev.", which is not a real street name.
Next, some users were pointing to Fortnite as further evidence to back this theory. The argument there was that Epstein's Fortnite username had newly become active again in Israel.
Dallas — On March 13, Afghan immigrant Naseer Paktiawal received a call from Immigration and Custom Enforcement, which had just arrested his brother in North Texas. The first thing his brother told him was that he wasn't feeling well. In:
More than 40% of TSA officers called out of work on Tuesday at an airport in Houston – one of three major airports in the U.S. where over a third of workers called out that day. Kris Van Cleave contributed to this report. In:
Higher U.S. gasoline prices stemming from the Iran war could effectively wipe out the fatter tax refunds many Americans are expected to collect this year, a new analysis found. Edited by Alain Sherter In:
Two crew members of a tugboat were killed and two others were injured in what the Coast Guard described Wednesday as a "confined space incident" aboard a barge moored in southeast Alaska last weekend. In:
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine are holding a briefing for reporters Thursday on the latest developments in the Iran war, their first since Israel carried out strikes killing Iran's top security chief Ali Larijani and Esmail Khatib, its intelligence minister.
The Grammy-nominated rapper Afroman won a defamation lawsuit filed by seven Ohio sheriff's deputies who sued him over music videos in which he used home security footage to mock their raid of his home. In:
A lawyer who worked closely with Jeffrey Epstein for decades before becoming an executor of his estate will be questioned Thursday by the House Oversight Committee. In:
A group of House Democrats walked out of a closed-door briefing with Attorney General Pam Bondi on the Jeffrey Epstein probe late Wednesday, as tensions over the Justice Department's handling of the Epstein case continue to simmer. In:
The FBI is investigating former National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent in connection with alleged leaks of classified information, multiple sources with direct knowledge of the matter tell CBS News.
Illinois' Democratic primary elections on Tuesday received a lot of attention, and not always for the candidates on the ballot. The primary for the open seat left by retiring Sen. Dick Durbin, had served as a test for Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker's political clout ahead of a potential 2028 presidential run.
Gasoline prices in the U.S. jumped on Wednesday, as the Iran war continues to take a toll on energy infrastructure in the Middle East and slow shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. In:
Joe Kent, who resigned Tuesday as National Counterterrorism Center director, has been a stalwart Trump supporter, backing him since his 2016 campaign, through his 2020 election defeat, the Jan. 6 riots, as well as during his own conservative media advocacy and two failed congressional bids. In:
Nancy Guthrie has been missing for 45 days, and with the latest update in the case being of little use to authorities, one expert tells CBS News the extended timeline means it "becomes much harder to keep the investigation going." In: