In early November 2024, many social media users claimed Russian state TV aired nude photos of Melania Trump, shortly after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump was announced as the winner of the Nov. 5 presidential election.

(@krassenstein / X)

Some posts suggested that this was intended as a show of control over Donald Trump. “This is Russia’s state-run media airing salacious pictures of the future First Lady, Melania Trump. This is Putin letting Trump know that he is in charge. Watch as Trump rolls over,” one X post claimed. “The message from Putin is clear: never forget that we own you or we’ll release the Kompromat we have on you,” another X user wrote.

(X user @krassenstein)

“Russia show nude pics of Melania Trump on prime time TV. Some bits of the photo are blurred, strange you can’t show an a** crack on Russian TV, but you can blatantly see 2 c****,” another commented.

The claim …