No, woman in this video is not U.S. health official Dr. Rachel Levine

What is the claim? 

A video claiming to show Dr. Rachel Levine, the U.S. assistant secretary for health, as a “pagan priestess” has gone viral on social media. The 18-second video shows a white-haired woman in a purple gown and a gray shrug chanting, “Equinox power of equinox rite, equinox balance of day and night.” 

An X user shared the video with the caption, “Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services Dr. "Rachel" Levine is also a High Pagan Priestess. Get behind me, Satan.” Archived versions of claims featuring the video can be viewed here, here, here, here, and here.

Screenshot of the viral claims on social media. (Source: X/Modified by Logically Facts)

Levine is the first openly transgender high-ranking government official in U.S. history. Levine has served as the assistant secretary for health since 2021 and is also an admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps.

However, we found that this video does not show Levine and has been digitally manipulated. The video actually shows Selena Fox, a practitioner of paganism and a certified clinical psychotherapist.

What we found 

We noticed signs that the video was digitally altered to resemble the assistant secretary for health. The person’s forehead moves unnaturally, and the glasses do not show up consistently — generally signs of AI usage.

A slowed-down version of the viral clip shows the discrepancies. (Source: Instagram/Modified by Logically Facts)

A reverse image search of frames from the video led us to the Instagram profile (archived here) of Selena Fox, whose profile reads: ‘#NatureMystic #HedgeWitch #HighPriestess of #CircleSanctuary #Witchy Podcaster #Pagan Author #EcoActivist #GreenCemetery Founder #Psychic #Counselor.’ We found the original video (archived here), dated September 16, 2024, on this profile, featuring a different woman not wearing glasses. The video was captioned, “#Equinoxiscoming next Sunday, September 22.” 

Fox’s Instagram profile also contains other videos (archived here and here) matching the clothes and location in the viral video. 

A Google search revealed that Fox is a ‘reverend’ and a spokesperson for the pagan religion. She is also identified as the founder of Circle Sanctuary, a ‘Nature Spirituality church.’ Her profile also stated that she is a certified clinical psychotherapist. Furthermore, Fox does not resemble Levine.

Comparison of Rachel Levine and a frame from the original clip showing Selena Fox. (Source: Biden-Harris Transition team/X/Instagram)

We found no credible news reports about Levine practicing paganism. Our research confirms that the video does not show the U.S. assistant secretary for health conducting pagan rituals. 

The verdict 

A digitally manipulated video has been used to claim it shows Dr. Rachel Levine as a ‘pagan priestess.’ The original video actually shows a woman named Selena Fox.