A viral claim suggesting that Ghislaine Maxwell, British socialite and close aide of sex offender Jeffery Epstein, has listed the names of those who didn't visit the controversial Epstein Island, is found to be fake.
Maxwell was arrested in July, last year. Daughter of late media mogul Robert Maxwell, the 59-year-old is charged with enticing a minor to travel to engage in criminal sexual activity, transporting a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, conspiracy to commit both of those offenses, and perjury in connection with a sworn deposition.
How Did the Claim Originate ?
The recent claim was made in an article published on The Babylon Bee, a website which describes itself as world's best satire site, totally inerrant in all its truth claims. The article was headlined, "To Save Time, Ghislaine Maxwell Just Lists The Hollywood Celebs And Politicians Who Didn't Visit Epstein Island."
"The trial of Ghislaine Maxwell is underway but began to get bogged as Maxwell listed the names of people who had flown on Lolita Express and visited Epstein Island. Now, in order to save time, she will just list the names of Hollywood celebs and politicians who didn't," the article claimed.
"Um, there are only, like 3 or 4 who didn't," said Maxwell, looking at the ceiling. "Let's see, there's, uh... Mel Gibson and Kirk Cameron... oh yeah, Keanu Reeves. Ron Paul. There were a few others, but that's most of the big ones, I think," the article further mentions.
Despite the article being a pieces of satire, holding no truth, the claim was shared by multiple social media users.
Another Fake List Naming Co-conspirators, Surfaces
Earlier a list naming, Maxwell and other co-conspirators also surfaced on social media platforms. The claim carries a copy of a Southern District of New York court filing which includes around 40 names listed as "defendants".
Debunking the claim being made in the viral posts, Newsweek stated that the list was taken from court filings on an earlier unrelated lawsuit, which was dismissed as frivolous by a judge.
According to the outlet, the civil complaint was filed by plaintiff Charlene Latham in August 2020. However, the records state that the case was "dismissed as frivolous" by a judge on September 24, 2020.
