In the wake of Melania Trump claiming that she only met Jeffrey Epstein once when she attended a social gathering with her husband, a digitally altered photo emerged of the financier holding her on his lap and kissing her. Along with the pic came the story that Emmanuel Macron had shared it on his social media page. According to France 24, fact-checkers debunked the claim that the French President posted the picture; they also found that the image had been digitally altered.
In early April, Donald Trump publicly mocked Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron, while talking to NATO allies. He said, “I call up France, Macron, whose wife treats him extremely badly. Still recovering from the right to the jaw.” He was referring to a viral video in which Brigitte was apparently shoving her husband’s face away.
FACT CHECK: Did Macron post a video of Jeffrey Epstein kissing Melania Trump? Truth behind the viral clip
READ: https://t.co/PFs6N23UMShttps://t.co/PFs6N23UMS
— WION (@WIONews) April 10, 2026
One of the first people to share the image was Egyptian journalist Nabil Omran who took to Facebook and posted what appeared to be Melania sitting on Epstein’s lap in an intimate moment. He then captioned the image, “Macron avenges his dignity.” The caption seemed to imply that Macron was retaliating to the public humiliation he had endured when Trump had roasted him.
However, no such post exists on Macron’s official social media accounts. Internet sleuths reviewed the French President’s verified platforms and found no evidence that he had shared the image or any related content. The claim that Macron had shared the image was debunked.
The photo claims then morphed into a video one, when some users falsely accused Macron of posting a video of Epstein and Melania embracing while on his lap. But, both the video and photo were proven to be false.
The truth is that the photo is a manipulated version of a genuine photo from the Epstein files. The real image shows Epstein with a mysterious woman on his lap, but her face has been redacted. There is no evidence that the woman is Melania.
Emmanuel Macron hits back at Donald Trump after US President mocked him over marriage: ‘Neither elegant nor up to standard’https://t.co/CwvXkn8jk6
— GB News (@GBNEWS) April 2, 2026
The doctored image was explicitly labeled as “digitally altered” and actually posted in February by PaulleyTicks, a satire account. But, the photo was circulated without context and many users thought that it was genuine.
Reverse image searches and database checks using identifying codes visible in the image confirm that the original and the altered version do not match. The code does match the Epstein files version, but nowhere in the official records is the viral image with Melania’s face on it.
Independent fact-checking organizations, including An-Nahar and other outlets, debunked the claim earlier this year. And more recently, AI detection tools have flagged the image as manipulated with a 97-100% probability. The photo is fake too.
For the record, Macron did end up responding to Trump’s jibe about his wife. During a state visit to South Korea, he said that Trump’s remarks were “neither elegant not up to standard.” He added, “I am not going to respond to them – they do not merit a response.”
But if the question is if Macron was feeling petty and posted a photo of Trump’s wife in the arms of a convicted offender, the answer is no. AI and a satirical account did that all on their own.
