For Epstein, Melania Trump is not what the alleged image of the pole dance looks like

Claim:

An image purportedly shows US first lady Melania Trump pole dancing for disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Rating:

In April 2026, in a surprise statement to the media, US First Lady Melania Trump denied a relationship with disgraced businessman and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Describing her correspondence with aide Ghislaine Maxwell as “accidental,” Melania Trump added, “I am not Epstein’s victim. Epstein did not introduce me to Donald Trump.”

Soon after he made the statement, internet users circulated one Image They claimed they showed Melania Trump pole dancing for Epstein. This image was previously circulated by the US Department of Justice later in the year issued More than 3 million files related to Epstein in late January. Snopes readers also sent us the image, asking if it was authentic.

The alleged photo went viral X:

(X user @Captain Lisowski)

The earliest example of the image we found appeared on February 9 on the Instagram page of British artist Alison Jackson, who, according to her website, “depicts realistic photographs, films and sculptures of celebrities working in private.” An Instagram post with the picture read the caption, “Apparently, Melania was introduced to Donald Trump by Epstein…” along with a disclaimer saying, “Fictitious image. No factual claims implied.” Consequently, we rated the image as fake.

We’ve reached out to Jackson’s Instagram page to confirm he created the image in question and will update this story if we learn more.

(Instagram user @alisonjacksonartist)

Snopes has already debunked other images featuring famous people created by the same artist. For a previous story about a fake image of US President Donald Trump and a girl washing Epstein’s feet, a Jackson spokesperson told us: “The image was created by Alison Jackson, she uses the looks of public figures and makes them look realistic, she also uses AI – it’s a little bit of both.”

We searched for the image in The Epstein Files provided by the DOJ and found no such photo in the files. A reverse image search also found no credible sources sharing the alleged photo. Had this image actually been in the files, major media outlets would have covered it extensively.

we Google also ran the image through Gemini’s SynthID Check out, a tool that scans for embedded watermark input via AI software. That scan number is found SynthID watermark and concluded that it was not created using Google’s AI, but noted that “SynthID only detects Google’s specific watermark, so it cannot determine whether an image was created or altered using other AI tools or software such as Photoshop.”

We also analyzed the image using other AI detection tools. Hive Mediation and Zero-GPT It determined that it was highly likely to contain AI-generated or deepfake content. Vision Engine It was impossible to be AI-generated. (Research shows AI-detection software is imperfect and readers should consider the tool’s results with skepticism.)

An image has several red flags that indicate it was AI-generated or heavily edited. First, the shadow behind the female figure is inconsistent and does not cast the same dark shadow on Epstein sitting behind her when the same light appears. Second, the woman’s fingers appear to be cut off around the pole. Third, it is unclear where the shadow on the bed between the pole and the woman’s legs comes from.

Snopes is first Investigated The image purports to show Melania Trump, Epstein’s associate Ghislaine Maxwell and some young or teenage girls. So is Snopes analyzed The unsubstantiated claim that Melania Trump was an escort before she met her now-husband President Donald Trump at a party thrown by Maxwell.

Sources:

Epstein Library. Department of Justice, https://www.justice.gov/epstein. Accessed 23 February 2026.

Ibrahim, Nur. “Investigating alleged photos of Melania Trump, Ghislaine Maxwell and unidentified girls.” Snopes, 7 Feb. 2026, https://www.snopes.com//news/2026/02/07/melania-trump-ghislaine-maxwell-girls-photo/. Accessed 23 February 2026.

Izzo, Jack. “Unraveling claims Melania was an escort before meeting Trump at Ghislaine Maxwell party.” Snopes, 1 Sept. 2025, https://www.snopes.com//news/2025/09/01/melania-trump-escort-ghislaine-maxwell-party/. Accessed 23 February 2026.

Karr, Sujitha Kumar, etc. “How Sensitive Are Free AI-Detector Tools for Detecting AI-Generated Texts? A Comparison of Popular AI-Detector Tools.” Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine, Vol. 47, no. 3, May 2025, p. 275–78. PubMed Central, https://doi.org/10.1177/02537176241247934. Accessed 23 February 2026.

Office of Public Affairs Justice Department publishes 3.5 million responsive pages of Epstein files in compliance with Transparency Act | United States Department of Justice. 30 Jan. 2026, https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/department-justice-publishes-35-million-responsive-pages-compliance-epstein-files. Accessed 23 February 2026.

“Verify Google AI-Generated Images, Videos, and Audios with SynthID.” Gemini apps help. https://support.google.com/gemini/answer/16722517. Accessed 23 February 2026.