Beware Fake Version of Trump’s Alleged Bawdy Drawing for Epstein
PLUS: One Year After Trump Assassination Attempt, a New Conspiracy Theory Emerges; Jordan Didn’t Threaten to Attack Israel; Tips for Not Being Duped by Satire
Welcome to Reality Check, a newsletter that helps you keep track of the false claims and online conspiracy theories that shape our world — and who’s behind them.
If you think exposing distortions and uncovering rabbit holes is important work, consider supporting us by becoming a Premium Member or by telling a friend about Reality Check!
Follow us on your social media platform of choice: X | LinkedIn | Instagram | Bluesky
In today’s edition, we look at how an apparently fabricated image purporting to show a bawdy birthday card from Donald Trump to Jeffrey Epstein is exploding on social media. We also analyze how supposedly new footage of the July 2024 assassination attempt on Trump does not provide evidence that the incident was staged. And we debunk an incendiary claim that Jordan is ready to attack Israel.
Plus: The next installment in our new video series to help you with the tools and skills you need to identify deepfakes and hoaxes online. Please share this with family and friends who may need these tips to avoid falling for false claims.
Today’s newsletter was edited by Sofia Rubinson and Eric Effron.
1. Fake Image Purports to Show Trump Birthday Drawing for Jeffrey Epstein
What happened: Liberal social media users are citing what appears to be a fabricated image that claims to show a letter and doodled picture President Donald Trump purportedly drew for the late financier Jeffrey Epstein’s 50th birthday in 2003, before Epstein was arrested as a sex offender.
Context: On July 17, 2025, The Wall Street Journal (NewsGuard Trust Score: 100/100) reported that it had “reviewed” a bawdy letter written by Trump to Epstein that it reported contained several typewritten lines of text framed by a hand-drawn outline of a naked woman, signed as “Donald.” The letter, said to be included in a bound album of birthday greetings, concluded, “Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret,” the Journal reported. The newspaper did not include a photo of the supposed letter.
According to the Journal: "Pages from the leather-bound album — assembled before Epstein was first arrested in 2006 — are among the documents examined by Justice Department officials who investigated Epstein … years ago, according to people who have reviewed the pages. It’s unclear if any of the pages are part of the Trump administration’s recent review."
Responding to the report, Trump told the Journal: “This is not me. This is a fake thing. It’s a fake Wall Street Journal story.” On July 18, Trump filed a libel suit against The Wall Street Journal, its parent companies Dow Jones and News Corp, and two reporters, alleging that the birthday greeting was “fake” and that the article caused Trump “overwhelming financial and reputational harm.”
A closer look: Two days after The Wall Street Journal published the article, a supposed photo of the purported letter spread among liberal accounts on Bluesky and X.
Anti-Trump Bluesky user @sundaedivine posted the image and stated, “Nothing says ‘innocent friendship’ like a nudie doodle and a cryptic message signed by a future president.” The post garnered 1,300 likes and 570 reposts in two days.
Canadian and anti-Trump X user Dean Blundell shared the image with the caption, “The WSJ isn’t F****** around…” The post received 31,000 views and 1,400 likes in one day.
Actually: The Wall Street Journal did not release an image of the alleged letter, nor had any other news organization done so as of July 21.
The image circulating on social media contains inconsistencies compared to the letter described by The Wall Street Journal.
According to the Journal, the text of the letter was inside the drawing. The image being shared on social media places most of the text above the drawing.
The fake image indicates the letter appeared under the Trump Organization’s letterhead — a detail that the newspaper would likely have included if true.
The Wall Street Journal did not respond to an email from NewsGuard requesting comment on the matter, including whether the image circulating on social media matches the purported letter described by the outlet.
Become a Reality Check Member and Get These Exclusive Benefits
Want to get smarter about false claims? Become a Reality Check Member today and you'll get:
A free copy of the definitive book on the misinformation crisis, The Death of Truth by bestselling author Steven Brill ($30 value)
Exclusive members-only content and digital briefings
Free access to NewsGuard's browser extension that shows reliability ratings for 10K+ news sites right in your browser ($25 value)
2. Footage Revives Conspiracy that Trump Assassination Attempt was Staged
By Sam Howard
What happened: A year after President Donald Trump survived an attempted assassination at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, liberal social media users are again citing fake evidence alleging the incident was staged.
Context: Almost immediately after Trump was struck in the ear by a bullet at the Butler rally on July 13, 2024, anti-Trump social media users claimed the shooting was a “false flag” staged to create sympathy for Trump, Reality Check previously reported.
A closer look: Liberal accounts are now sharing a video of what they say is a “new angle” of the shooting that supposedly proves that photographers were purposefully ushered into place so they could capture the now-iconic photos of Trump waving his fist into the air with blood running down his face.
Liberal TikTok user @devinpolitics posted a July 17, 2025, video featuring a caption saying that a Trump campaign staffer “ushers photographers in from the left side of the stage.” Commenting on the footage, @devinpolitics said: "This couldn't be more obvious. It really couldn't. The question we need to be asking ourselves is who orchestrated this event? Who organized this campaign photo op?" The post garnered 485,200 views and 61,400 likes in three days.
Bluesky user @cwebbonline.com stated in a post: "Watch and decide, but I was never fully convinced he was shot in the first place. … From this angle: you see the photographers guided into place." The post received 17,600 likes and 8,200 reposts in two days.
Actually: The footage is neither new nor evidence of a conspiracy.
The footage was apparently first posted by pro-Trump X user @Brick_Suit four days after the attempted assassination, on July 17, 2024.
Photojournalists interviewed at the time about their experience covering the rally said they were not ushered into position.
New York Times photographer Doug Mills, said in a July 2024 New York Times video that he went to that spot under his own volition: “I've always known which way [presidential candidates] come onstage and which way they go off. And the closest stairs were to my right, so I ran over to that side and witnessed him being helped to his feet."
Another photographer, Evan Vucci of The Associated Press, told PBS in July 2024 that he was trying to anticipate Trump’s next move. “I knew that he was going to go down the steps and into a waiting vehicle,” Vucci said. “So I ran to the steps as quickly as I could, and I started framing up what I thought was going to work.”
Tell us a story
Tell us about a time you encountered false claims, how you recognized the hoax, and what, if anything, you did in response. We’ll spotlight some of your experiences in Reality Check! Reach us at realitycheck@newsguardtech.com.
3. Concocted Jordan Statement Threatens Israeli Attack
By Mascha Wolf
What happened: Pro-Iranian social media users are falsely claiming that Jordan declared that now “is a good time to attack Israel to save humanity in Gaza.” Some users attributed the quote to Jordan’s King Abdullah II.
Context: While Jordan has long criticized Israeli policies in Gaza and the West Bank, as of July 2025, it has not issued any statement supporting an attack on Israel.
A closer look: The narrative spread amid heightened tensions following Israeli military operations in Gaza.
The earliest version of the quote identified by NewsGuard was a July 20 X post by the Iranian News Account @DailyIranNews, which states in its bio that it is “non-state affiliated.” The post stated, “Breaking: Jordan says it is a good time to attack Israel to save humanity in Gaza” and included an image of King Abdullah II. The post received 16,000 views and 400 likes in one day.
News account @_MegaPolitics shared an identical post that received 54,800 views and 1,600 likes in one day.
Actually: Jordan has issued no such statement.
A review of official Jordanian sources — including the Royal Hashemite Court website, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ social media accounts, and state news agency Petra — found no record of such a declaration. Jordan has recognized Israel’s right to exist, and such a provocative statement would be a significant development.
As of mid-July 2025, Jordan’s official position regarding Gaza emphasized diplomacy and humanitarian efforts.
On July 8, 2025, Jordan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said Jordan was working toward “a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and the delivery of humanitarian aid,” according to Petra, Jordan's national news agency. In May 2025, King Abdullah II called for “an immediate ceasefire and unimpeded humanitarian access” in Gaza, according to Arab News (Trust Score: 44.5/100).
4. Tips and Tricks: How to Spot a Satirical Claim
This video is part of a series offering readers practical tips on how to spot false claims spreading online. Each short tutorial breaks down real-life examples of deepfakes and other fabrications and tells you about the tools you can use to spot falsehoods in your social media feeds. We hope you will share these videos with family and friends who need these tips to avoid falling for false claims.
Today’s tutorial explains how to spot satirical claims shared by users who may have neglected to label them as parody, perhaps because they themselves thought the claims were true. In this case, the satirical claims originated with a group called America’s Last Line of Defense (ALLOD), which often has the effect of duping conservatives into believing outrageous claims about liberals. Want to avoid being duped yourself? Watch below:
Reality Check is produced by Co-CEOs Steven Brill and Gordon Crovitz, and the NewsGuard team.
We launched Reality Check after seeing how much interest there is in our work beyond the business and tech communities that we serve. Subscribe to this newsletter to support our apolitical mission to counter false claims for readers, brands, and democracies. Our work is more important than ever. Have feedback? Send us an email: realitycheck@newsguardtech.com.