Photo does not show Taylor Swift with Jeffrey Epstein

"Taylor Swift on Epstien(sic) Island 2004. The sad part is Swift fans won't care," says a January 4, 2024 Facebook post.

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Screenshot of a Facebook post taken January 5, 2024

Similar posts have circulated across platforms such as X, formerly known as Twitter -- including in Spanish.

The January 3, 2024 release of previously undisclosed Epstein documents comes as part of a defamation proceeding between the disgraced financier's former mistress Ghislaine Maxwell, who in 2022 was sentenced to 20 years in prison, and a plaintiff against the duo, Virginia Giuffre.

The initial tranche includes 40 documents with almost 1,000 pages of depositions and statements. The release was highly anticipated in conspiratorial internet circles, where fabricated accomplice lists attempting to link Epstein to figures such as President Joe Biden, comedian Jimmy Kimmel, Fox News host Chris Wallace and others have circulated for years -- fueling speculation about his potential associates.

But Swift's name does not appear in the filings (archived here) -- and the photo circulating online does not show her and Epstein together.

A reverse image search found the earliest version of the photo appeared online December 16, 2021, two years after Epstein died by suicide while awaiting trial for sex trafficking.

The Swift fan accounts that shared the picture (archived here) identified the man beside her as Lipman, CEO and co-founder of Republic Records, a unit of Universal Music Group. Swift inked a deal with the company in 2018.

Swift and Lipman have previously taken other photos together (archived here).

AFP has debunked other misinformation about celebrities tied to Epstein here, here and here.