Are social media posts claiming that a long list of celebrities, including 85-year-old Joan Baez, were photographed wearing an incredibly daring thong bikini on the beach real? No, that's not true: The images used in the post were AI-generated. The claims came from a spam operation managed from Vietnam.
Among the false posts Lead Stories found is a post (archived here) making the claim about Joan Baez and Bob Dylan shared by the "Songs in the Wind" Facebook page on June 10, 2026. The text read:
BREAKING: During a recent vacation, Joan Baez is making waves online with a series of photos featuring her in an incredibly d.a.r.i.n.g t.h.o.n.g b.i.k.i.n.i on the beach alongside Bob Dylan--oh my, she looks absolutely stunning...
This is what the post looked like on Facebook at the time of writing:
(Source: Facebook screenshot taken on Thu Jun 11 16:53:22 2026 UTC)
(Image source: Songs in the Wind Facebook page)
A Google search (archived here) for "making waves online with a series of photos featuring her in an incredibly daring thong bikini" returned no credible reporting that any such statement was made. It returned only links to the fake posts in this series.
Lead Stories searched Facebook to identify other fake posts in the series, including with a search (archived here) for the keywords "making waves online with a series of photos featuring her in an incredibly daring thong bikini." The false posts named musicians, sports stars, actors, a comedian and an entertainer, including:
- Adam Lambert and Oliver Gliese
- Aimee Preston and Steven Tyler
- Alan Jackson and Norma Strait and George Strait and Denise Jackson
- Anne Hathaway and Emily Blunt
- Bob Seger and Juanita Dorricott
- Bronte Gildea and Patrick Carrigan
- Bunnie XO and Jelly Roll
- Caitlin Clark and Sophia Cunningham
- Carrie Underwood and Mike Fisher
- Christine Baumgartner and Kevin Costner
- Ciara, Marissa Ayers, Russell Wilson and Jaxson Dart
- Daryl Hannah and Neil Young
- Evelyn McGee-Colbert and Stephen Colbert
- Gabi Duggal and Scotty McCreery
- Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell
- Joan Baez and Bob Dylan
- Joy Reid and Jason Reid
- Jy Simpkin and Chloe E Wheatland
- Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman
- Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn
- Lady Gaga and Michael Polansky
- Laila Hasanovic and Jannik Sinner
- Mary J. Blige and Nas
- Melanie Hamrick and Mick Jagger
- Miley Cyrus and Dolly Parton
- Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban
- Shemane Deziel and Ted Nugent
- Sophie Cunningham and Caitlin Clark
- Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce
(Image source: Facebook)
The image used in the post about Joan Baez and Bob Dylan, both 85 years old, is not real. The Hive Moderation AI content detection tool concluded with 99 percent confidence that the image was AI-generated.
(Image source: Lead Stories screenshot of HiveModeration.com)
The Facebook pages that distribute these posts have a common origin: Vietnam. The Meta transparency data on the "Songs in the Wind" Facebook profile page (archived here) confirmed it is managed from Vietnam.
(Image source: Lead Stories screenshot of Songs in the Wind Facebook profile page)
The post caption includes a link to an article (archived here) titled "BREAKING: Dυriпg a receпt vacatioп, Joaп Baez is makiпg waves oпliпe with a series of photos featυriпg her iп aп iпcredibly d.a.r.i.п.g t.h.o.п.g b.i.k.i.п.i oп the beach aloпgside Bob Dylaп" uses lookalike Cyrillic letters used in place of Latin letters, which may be an attempt to evade automated content moderation.
(Image source: Lead Stories screenshot of jervisfamily.com)
The "terms of service" page (archived here) for that website confirm that it also is managed from Vietnam.
(Image source: Lead Stories screenshot of jervisfamily.com/tos)
The Vietnam connection is significant, since fact-checkers, including Lead Stories, have identified a major source of AI-generated false stories coming from a single operation based in that Southeast Asian country. Recent reporting and fact checks mentioning that country are available here.
Lead Stories has published a primer -- or a prebunk -- on how to identify these kinds of fake posts exported from Vietnam. It is titled "Prebunk: Beware Of Fake Fan Pages Spreading False Stories About Your Favorite Celebrities -- How To Spot 'Viet Spam.'"
