Left-leaning social media users have amplified an AI-generated audio clip that falsely claims to capture President Donald Trump screaming at U.S. officials to stop the release of documents related to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, researchers said Friday.

The surge in synthetic content comes as renewed public furor over the so-called Epstein files has roiled U.S. politics, fueling a standoff between lawmakers and Trump, who once counted the convicted sex offender as a friend.

“Not releasing the Epstein files,” a Trump-like voice says in the widely circulated recording, which posts on multiple platforms inaccurately described as the president berating his cabinet. “If I go down, I will bring all of you down with me.”

The clip spread rapidly on Instagram and TikTok, drawing millions of views and thousands of comments.

Watchdogs push back

Disinformation tracker NewsGuard said the recording was “an AI-generated fake.” Researchers found it appeared to originate with a liberal TikTok user and came from a video showing signs it was created with Sora, OpenAI’s text-to-video model.

The clip was then repackaged in posts that lacked Sora’s watermarks, helping obscure its artificial origins, NewsGuard said.

Liberal accounts also falsely attributed a quote to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, claiming she said that recently released Epstein emails referred not to Trump but to “another person with the same name.” One X post sharing the bogus remark drew more than four million views and spread widely on Instagram.

Responding to a user insisting that Leavitt had commented, a White House account replied: “No … she didn’t. You are a weapons-grade moron.”

Disinformation across divides

The left-wing distortion highlights how manipulated narratives take root across the political spectrum in a hyperpolarized environment. The spread of falsehoods on increasingly unmoderated platforms has made it harder for users to distinguish fact from fiction.

Trump has long denied having “anything to do” with Epstein, despite their past friendship.

On Wednesday, the president signed a bill requiring his administration to release federal documents related to Epstein. Trump had resisted the measure for months but surprised Washington this week by reversing course, enabling the legislation to pass Congress easily.

Insiders caution that the administration could still rely on redactions, procedural delays, or ongoing federal investigations to keep potentially explosive details concealed.

Epstein, a wealthy financier, cultivated ties with high-profile business leaders, politicians, academics, and celebrities. He was arrested in 2019 on sex-trafficking charges, prompting widespread demands for a full accounting of his network and finances.