Recently, a claim emerged online that Sean “Diddy” Combs escaped from the jail where he is currently being held following his September 16 arrest and federal indictment. The claim first surfaced on a YouTube channel, called Uncover Discovery, on October 10, 2024.
“3 MINUTES AGO: FBI Confirms Diddy ESCAPED From Prison!” the title of the video read.
The post garnered huge traction online, earning over 610K views in five days, alongside more than 6.8K likes and 562 comments, as of the time of writing.
However, the claim has turned out to be fake, as nowhere does the video substantiate that Diddy fled the prison, nor has the federal government confirmed the same. Additionally, the Uncover Discovery page has a disclaimer in its bio that reads, “We do not claim any information to be factual or verified, and the content should not be taken as professional advice.”
Sean "Diddy" Combs has not escaped federal prison
Last week, a 40-minute-long video arose on social media, beginning with YouTube, alleging that Sean Combs fled the federal prison where he is being held until his trial.
The video featured the headline, “Breaking News: Diddy Escapes Prison!” with two photos, one of a federal agent and the other from a prison surveillance footage. Dated October 9, 20:40, the footage shows an unidentified man running, with a snap of Diddy attached on top.
However, the rumor is false. There are no verified reports of Sean Combs escaping jail and the prison security footage is likely manipulated or AI-generated. Additionally, the now-viral video does not provide any authentic information on the hip-hop mogul’s fleeing.
Instead, it explores his September 16 arrest, federal indictment, arraignment, bail denial, and other ongoing legal troubles and includes news clips and interviews of his attorneys and federal prosecutors, among others. Furthermore, the FBI has not announced Sean Combs’ escape from prison, contrary to the video’s title and caption, nor have any major media outlets reported on the same.
Meanwhile, the page Uncover Discovery that first uploaded the video also had a disclaimer in its “About” section, which said that the “content on this channel is for entertainment and informational purposes only. All opinions expressed are based on publicly available information and personal commentary.” It further asked viewers not to consider the content “factual or verified.”
Thus, the claim can be debunked and regarded as fabricated and unfounded. Moreover, since Diddy’s arrest, the channel has uploaded similar clickbait videos, including that the rapper’s son and ex-girlfriend have testified against him. However, so far, neither of them has taken to the stands, as the case is still pending trial, which is scheduled to begin on May 5, 2025.
Notably, the TikTok channel @watch.news0 also uploaded a three-part video over the last weekend claiming the Bad Boy Records founder escaped from his jail cell, which was headlined, “2-minutes ago, Diddy escapes high-security prison.” However, that too remained unsubstantiated and unverified.
For the unversed, Sean Combs is currently being held at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center on the charges of "s*xual trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion, racketeering conspiracy, and transportation to engage in prostitution." The rapper has been denied bail multiple times despite pleading not guilty, and if convicted, he is looking at 15 years to life in federal prison.