Social media accounts claimed in recent weeks that Disney purchased Jeffrey Epstein’s island. But it’s simply not true, even though the claims have gotten quite a bit of attention on sites like TikTok and X.
“The Walt Disney Company Officially Buys Epstein Island!” stated the original TikTok video from last month that appears to have started this claim
The video, produced by an account called Mouse Trap News, goes on to quote fake statements from the Disney company and insisting the entertainment company will make Epstein’s island, “a stop on their cruise ships.” The video falsely claims Disney bought the island for $3 billion and even says it will build a theme park there.
Mouse Trap News has numerous other videos about Disney on its website and social media page. And while some have called it “satire,” it’s easy to see why so many of the account’s videos are taken seriously by some people online. There’s no real punchline to many of them, instead just spreading fake information in what appears to be bait to see outlandish claims go viral.
The fake news of Disney buying Epstein’s island appears to have gotten the most attention from the most credulous people on the internet: X users who pay $8 for a checkmark. Even when people point out it’s fake news, these X accounts still insist there must be some truth to it.
But this isn’t the first time a Disney-Epstein fake news story has gained traction on social media. As Snopes points out, there was a claim back in the summer of 2023 that Disney cruise lines would be making a stop on Epstein’s island in the Virgin Islands, known as Little St. James.
Epstein, a convicted sex offender, was found dead in a New York jail cell in the summer of 2019 after being arrested on new charges of sex trafficking. Epstein’s death was reported as a suicide but many people refused to believe the official story, given the fact that Epstein was connected to a number of powerful people who probably wanted to see him dead.
Epstein’s death, whatever you think actually happened, sparked a rash of new conspiracy theories and fake images in recent years that simply don’t hold up to scrutiny. Yes, Epstein met with some big names in the world of tech and politics before he died. But it’s easy to attach the dead pedophile’s name to virtually any claim online and see it go viral.
