Camilla Jessen
Online speculation has surged after a startling image spread rapidly across social platforms.
A photo and a handful of newly released documents have ignited intense discussion online.
The controversy centres on a photograph circulating widely on social media. It appears to show filmmaker Mira Nair holding a baby while standing next to Jeffrey Epstein.
Users have suggested the child is Zohran Mamdani, now Mayor of New York City, and that the image proves Epstein is his father.
The photograph has been shared alongside excerpts from recently disclosed Epstein-related documents. Together, they have been framed as long-suppressed evidence of a secret relationship involving Mamdani’s family.
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Why the evidence fails
Fact-checking organisations and platform moderation notes have established that the photograph is not authentic.
Analysts say it was generated using AI and depicts an event that never happened. In some cases, individuals linked to the image’s creation have acknowledged it was deliberately manipulated to provoke attention.
Basic chronology further undermines the story.
Mamdani was born in 1991, making him about 18 years old in 2009, the year referenced in documents now being cited. He could not have been an infant at that time.
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What the files show
The documents themselves come from material released by the U.S. Department of Justice under the Epstein Files Transparency Act of 19 November 2025.
Among them is an email dated 21 October 2009 from Hollywood publicist Peggy Siegal to Epstein.
It describes an after-party following a screening of Mira Nair’s film ‘Amelia’ and lists high-profile attendees. Zohran Mamdani is not mentioned, and the email contains no allegation of wrongdoing.
Justice Department officials have warned that names appearing in these files do not imply criminal behaviour, noting that many references relate to social or professional contexts.
Mamdani’s background
Public records show Mamdani was born in Kampala, Uganda, to Mira Nair and academic Mahmood Mamdani, whom she married in 1991.
Nair was previously married to photographer Mitch Epstein in the 1980s, but not to Jeffrey Epstein, and that marriage ended before Mamdani’s birth.
Mamdani entered U.S. politics in 2020 as a New York State Assembly member and became mayor on 1 January 2026.
Despite online insinuations, there is no credible evidence linking him biologically or legally to Epstein.
Sources: U.S. Department of Justice, fact-checking organisations, X, International Business Times
