Jeffrey Epstein was a wealthy American investor and convicted sex offender. Utilizing high-level connections built with influential people, he was involved in the sexual abuse and trafficking of teenage girls. In 2019, he was arrested on federal sex trafficking charges in the United States. However, before the judicial process could begin, his hanging body was recovered from a New York jail. Epstein’s death sparked widespread global debate and various conspiracy theories about whether it was suicide or homicide. Later, the US Department of Justice officially stated that Epstein committed suicide.
Epstein-related documents had been released in limited scope at various times before. However, under the ‘Epstein Files Transparency Act’ in 2026, the US Department of Justice released the largest scope of documents to date. It includes nearly 3.5 million pages of documents, over two thousand videos, and nearly one hundred eighty thousand photos. This massive database related to Epstein is known as the ‘Epstein Files’. After the release of these documents, discussion and criticism began worldwide.
Centering the Epstein files, a claim regarding a photo spread on social media. The claim states that the photo shows a child roast between two fried chickens.
See some posts circulated on Facebook with this claim: here, here, here, here.
See the post circulated on Instagram with the same claim: here.
Fact Check
The Rumor Scanner team’s investigation reveals that the discussed photo does not show any child roast between two fried chickens. The photo is not a scene of any real event, nor is it a photo taken by Jeffrey Epstein. In reality, the photo is a ‘digital artwork’ created by an artist named Harald Seiwert.
Investigating the matter, an X post by Lebanese-Australian entrepreneur Mario Nawfal was found. There he states, “The discussed photo of chickens and human legs is in the Epstein files, but the way it is being claimed is not correct. It is an artwork created by Harald Seiwert, where the person in the middle has been added through digital editing. The photo was found in Epstein’s Google Drive along with other randomly saved photos. He also mentioned that the watermark of the photo is being cropped out to spread confusion.”
The existence of the photo is found in the Epstein files published on the US Department of Justice website. However, the same photo has been present on the photo and video hosting website Flickr under the title ‘ChickenMan’ since 2009.
Subsequently, following the title of the photo and the artist’s name, it is known that it is included in a book named ‘Cumrades‘ published by Harald Seiwert in 2004. Alongside this, the presence of the photo is also found on the website of the book Cumrades. Furthermore, some photos of the Cumrades book are found on a website named ‘Marktplaats’, where the presence of the discussed photo inside the book is also seen.
In an article published on November 9, 2003, on a blog named ‘Forced Perspective’, it is mentioned, ‘Artist Harald Seiwert himself confirmed that his work titled ‘Chicken’ was created with the help of Photoshop (image editing software). He stated that it was necessary to use that software to maintain the color consistency of the photo. Although he could have worked more with extreme depth of field if he wanted, it was not possible at that time as the deadline for publishing the book was approaching.’
Investigating about Harald Seiwert, it is known that he was born in Germany in 1957. After studying art and art history, he worked as a graphic designer and art director in various advertising agencies. Since 1995, he has been living in Amsterdam and working as a freelance artist with three-dimensional artwork and photography. The main field of his work is male erotic photographic art.
That is, although the discussed photo is preserved in the Epstein file, it is not a photo taken by Epstein, but rather a ‘digital artwork’.
Therefore, a ‘digital artwork’ is being circulated with the claim of being a real scene present in the Epstein files; which is completely misleading.
Sources
- Epstein File: Docs
- Flickr: ChickenMan
- Amazon: Cumrades
- Cumrades
- Marktplaats: CUMRADES by Harald Seiwert – MaleEroticPhotoArt