Influencers are travelling to Jeffrey Epstein’s private island, Little Saint James, to create content that has garnered millions of views. The trend has been fuelled by the US Department of Justice releasing millions of pages from Epstein’s FBI file in February, reigniting public interest in the disgraced financier’s crimes.
At least nine YouTube videos, most posted within the last month, feature titles such as “I Snuck into Jeffrey Epstein's Island.” Creators fly to St Thomas, speak to locals, rent a jet ski to reach the island, and then explore the site while discussing Epstein’s depravity. Variations include Ash Alk’s action-film-style video claiming to “storm” the island, and WAYOFLIFESQ’s “Muslim Sneaks Onto Epstein Island,” in which he waves a Quran.
The videos are pulling in large audiences: WAYOFLIFESQ’s video has over 500,000 views, while Ash Alk’s has 1.6 million. Jordan-based creator Ahmad Aburob said the latest release of Epstein documents created a trend that encouraged YouTubers to “ride on that trend.” Nico Grigg, whose previous video on Bohemian Grove had 2.3 million views, saw his Little Saint James video reach 12 million.
Some creators attempt to justify the content as a form of journalism. Ben Lisi told NBC News he hopes his “light-hearted and adventurous” video will help bring justice to Epstein survivors, saying, “Hopefully, in some small way, can bring justice to the victims.”
The February document dump included around three million pages, 180,000 images, and 2,000 videos, with a total of 3.5 million files released. Fallout included the arrest of Prince Andrew on suspicion of misconduct in public office, and Peter Mandelson’s arrest for similar offences. The government still holds approximately 2.5 million unreleased files.
