The Internet Desperately Wants to Believe That Jeffrey Epstein Knew the Island Boys

It is insane how quickly the internet will take something for the truth without any facts or evidence.

That's right, we're talking about that photo. That viral photo of disgraced billionaire and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein posing with a group of young boys on what looks to be an island — perhaps his infamous island where much of his misconduct allegedly took place.

And for some reason, many people have decided to jump to the conclusion that two of the boys — the one in the olive green tank and the one in the black T-shirt — are no other than twin rappers Franky "Kodiyakredd" and Alex "Flyysoulja" Venegas, better known as the Island Boys.

And what started as talk of Epstein and these TikTok-famous artists potentially existing in the same vignette quickly evolved into more unhinged claims on Twitter like "The Island Boys are Jeffrey Epstein’s children," and "So y'all tellin me the island boys was slaves on Epstein’s island?"

I'm sure we can all agree that these are big conclusions that have been jumped to. So, let's start with the most important question: Did the Island Boys even know Jeffrey Epstein?

The Island Boys have debunked the rumors that they've ever had anything to do with Jeffrey Epstein, who was found dead in a New York City prison cell on Aug. 10, 2019, while awaiting trial for sex-trafficking charges.

In a TikTok video addressing the bogus claim that somehow they are connected to this evil man, Franky says, "I know nothing about Jeff Epstein, I promise."

Alex also reminds viewers that their real dad died of a heart attack when they were young. He added: "The Island Boy song came from a freestyle, it has nothing to do with Jeffrey Epstein."

And if you've ever listened to the song, it all checks out. It really doesn't seem likely that either one of them was trying to cleverly hint that they had been to one of Epstein's private islands — a claim that, if true, would probably make them a lot more newsworthy than a poolside TikTok ever could.

Franky also confirmed to TMZ that he and Alex are not the boys in the photo, especially as they'd never left their home state of Florida until they were 18 years old. The island in the photo looks to be part of the Carribean, not Florida.

Last but not least, while the photo received significant attention in late May 2023, the earliest trace of it on the internet dates back to March 2023. It was shared by an AI artist with the username @aiartistking.

Given that some of his other works include a photo of President Joe Biden and former president Donald Trump smiling and taking a selfie together, he seems to like to create images far from reality.

That said, if you revisit his original post, it now comes with an altered photo warning that reads: "Fact-checkers say this post contains at least one altered photo or video that could mislead people." Politico further confirmed the photo is fake.