Claim: A photograph authentically shows physicist Stephen Hawking once attended a conference sponsored by financier Jeffrey Epstein in the Caribbean. In a tweet, @dom_lucre asked, "Serious question, why the hell was Stephen Hawking on Jeffrey Epstein's Island?" Hawking was just one of many scientists and intellectuals invited to these islands for less-sinister reasons — a scientific conference Epstein paid for. One evening, the participants had dinner on the beach at Mr. Epstein's private island. In another 2019 report, The New York Times described how, "Once, the scientists — including Mr. Hawking — crowded on board a submarine that Mr. Epstein had chartered."

Source: New York Times May 20, 2023 16:05 UTC