THE EPSTEIN CLASS
Photo from the estate of Jeffrey Epstein that includes Donald Trump. (Photo: Epstein Estate/House Oversight and Reform Committee)
March 02, 2026
ALTERNET
The Trump administration's botched rollout of the Epstein files, as well as the revelations contained within them, have produced a world where even "normal" people have become conspiracy theorists, according to the new analysis from Salon.
Published on Monday, the breakdown from Salon senior writer Andi Zeisler examined how the fallout of the files has impacted the wider culture. She noted that the revelations about Jeffrey Epstein, the deceased sex trafficker with close connections to Donald Trump and numerous other elite public figures, have unsurprisingly provided a wealth of new material for conspiracy theorists, but additionally, they also seem to have spread conspiratorial thinking beyond the typical boundaries.
"The Epstein files were always going to be a gift to conspiracy theorists, and have indeed resulted in a raft of brand new theories, including one that has Epstein alive and well and living in Israel," Zeisler wrote. "But parsing the tranches of documents — the most recent release puts the total at roughly 3.5 million pages — turns out to be making [normal people] feel suspicious too. All over social media, people with no ties to conspiracy communities are unsettled by what they reveal: The sheer breadth of Epstein’s network, the casual references to abuse, the confirmation of everything that hid in plain sight."
According to Zeisler, the chaotic state in which the files were released to the public by the Justice Department has also contributed to this phenomenon, as it forced the public to make their own sense of things.
"There’s no order to the files themselves: No indexing, no differentiation between material evidence and uninvestigated complaints, missing files and overenthusiastic redactions — a build-your-own-conspiracy board minus the red twine," Zeisler explained.
Others have also argued that the Trump administration's handling of the disclosure has sown doubt amongst the public in a way that the president might never be able to shake. Despite pledging to release the files on the campaign trail in 2024, once in office, Trump became highly resistant to the idea, with his officials in the DOJ and FBI claiming at one point that there were no files. Once an act of Congress forced their disclosure, the DOJ missed several deadlines for the full release and released numerous pages with heavy redactions. The sum of it all has been a situation in which a plurality of the public believes that the government is covering something up.
Conspiracy theory expert Anna Merlan told Zeisler that the sheer magnitude of Epstein's connections to powerful figures also made it difficult for people to escape conspiratorial thinking, as the revelations about his connections contained in the files painted a picture of someone with vast influence.
"[Epstein] had so much to do with so many famous and powerful people, and was involved in so many things," Merlan said. "So part of the reason we’re seeing [the Epstein files] and going, 'Wow, he’s everywhere, he’s the grand unified answer to every bit of corruption that is plaguing us,' is because, by design, he tried to be everywhere. He worked very, very hard at it."
The Trump administration's botched rollout of the Epstein files, as well as the revelations contained within them, have produced a world where even "normal" people have become conspiracy theorists, according to the new analysis from Salon.
Published on Monday, the breakdown from Salon senior writer Andi Zeisler examined how the fallout of the files has impacted the wider culture. She noted that the revelations about Jeffrey Epstein, the deceased sex trafficker with close connections to Donald Trump and numerous other elite public figures, have unsurprisingly provided a wealth of new material for conspiracy theorists, but additionally, they also seem to have spread conspiratorial thinking beyond the typical boundaries.
"The Epstein files were always going to be a gift to conspiracy theorists, and have indeed resulted in a raft of brand new theories, including one that has Epstein alive and well and living in Israel," Zeisler wrote. "But parsing the tranches of documents — the most recent release puts the total at roughly 3.5 million pages — turns out to be making [normal people] feel suspicious too. All over social media, people with no ties to conspiracy communities are unsettled by what they reveal: The sheer breadth of Epstein’s network, the casual references to abuse, the confirmation of everything that hid in plain sight."
According to Zeisler, the chaotic state in which the files were released to the public by the Justice Department has also contributed to this phenomenon, as it forced the public to make their own sense of things.
"There’s no order to the files themselves: No indexing, no differentiation between material evidence and uninvestigated complaints, missing files and overenthusiastic redactions — a build-your-own-conspiracy board minus the red twine," Zeisler explained.
Others have also argued that the Trump administration's handling of the disclosure has sown doubt amongst the public in a way that the president might never be able to shake. Despite pledging to release the files on the campaign trail in 2024, once in office, Trump became highly resistant to the idea, with his officials in the DOJ and FBI claiming at one point that there were no files. Once an act of Congress forced their disclosure, the DOJ missed several deadlines for the full release and released numerous pages with heavy redactions. The sum of it all has been a situation in which a plurality of the public believes that the government is covering something up.
Conspiracy theory expert Anna Merlan told Zeisler that the sheer magnitude of Epstein's connections to powerful figures also made it difficult for people to escape conspiratorial thinking, as the revelations about his connections contained in the files painted a picture of someone with vast influence.
"[Epstein] had so much to do with so many famous and powerful people, and was involved in so many things," Merlan said. "So part of the reason we’re seeing [the Epstein files] and going, 'Wow, he’s everywhere, he’s the grand unified answer to every bit of corruption that is plaguing us,' is because, by design, he tried to be everywhere. He worked very, very hard at it."
Trump Humiliated as Epstein ‘Walk of Shame’ Pops Up Near White House
Cameron Adams
Sun, March 1, 2026
THE DAILY BEAST
A rogue “Jeffrey Epstein Walk of Shame” highlighting politicians and businesspeople with links to the late child sex offender has surfaced near the White House.
The stickers, designed to resemble the stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, were photographed by Getty on Sunday, with Epstein’s face replacing the symbols of TV, film, music or theatre on the regular plaques.
It’s unclear who is responsible, but they were placed around Farragut Square in Washington, a five-minute walk from the White House.
People walk along the “Jeffrey Epstein Walk of Shame,” which features prominent names from the Epstein files, near the White House on March 1, 2026, in Washington, D.C. / BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI / AFP via Getty ImagesMore
Each sticker has a QR code that, when scanned, opens to documents on the Department of Justice website or to information linking the person to Epstein, according to MS Now.
Epstein’s accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell also features with the caption “child sex trafficker.” Maxwell, 64, was jailed for 20 years for sex trafficking in June 2022. In August last year, with the approval of the Trump administration, she was moved to a low-security prison camp in Texas.
A dog investigates Ghislaine Maxwell’s star on the “Jeffrey Epstein Walk of Shame” in Washington, D.C. / BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI / AFP via Getty Images
A star for billionaire Elon Musk, 54, appeared to have been ripped up on Sunday, but a QR code left behind opens to the Department of Justice website and a 2012 email from Epstein to Musk. In it, Epstein asks, “how many people will you be for the heli to the island,” with Musk replying, “Probably just Talulah and me. What day/night will be the wildest party on your island?”
After the files were released, Musk posted on his platform X that “no one pushed harder than me” to get the Epstein files released and insisted he “declined repeated invitations” to go to his island, but noted he was “aware that some email correspondence with him could be misinterpreted and used by detractors to smear my name.”
A pigeon pays respect to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s star. / BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI / AFP via Getty Images
Billionaire Howard Lutnick, the Donald Trump-appointed Secretary of Commerce, also features in the “Walk of Shame.”
Lutnick, 64, previously claimed he only met Epstein once, in 2005, and then cut off all contact. However, the latest dump of Epstein files contained emails between the pair years after Epstein pleaded guilty to soliciting a minor in 2008.
The Republican also admitted he had lunch with Epstein in 2012, and took his wife, four children and their nannies. Last week, a photograph appearing to show Lutnick with Epstein on an island surfaced.
The DOJ said the photo was “part of a batch of files that were flagged for nudity” and had not been deleted.
Billionaire Les Wexner in the “Jeffrey Epstein Walk of Shame.” / BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI / AFP via Getty Images
Billionaire retail mogul Les Wexner, 88, is also in the “Walk of Shame.”
The Victoria’s Secret founder appears thousands of times in the Epstein files, but has denied any knowledge of Epstein’s crimes and claimed that he had been “duped” by the disgraced financier, to whom he granted power of attorney over his finances in 1991.
“I was naive, foolish, and gullible to put any trust in Jeffrey Epstein,” Wexner told the House Oversight Committee last month. They subpoenaed him as part of their investigation into the government’s handling of the Epstein case. “At no time did I ever witness the side of Epstein’s life for which he is now infamous.”
A star for Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor in the “Jeffrey Epstein Walk of Shame.” / BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI / AFP via Getty Images
A person walks over a star with the name of former President Clinton along the “Jeffrey Epstein Walk of Shame.” / BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI / AFP via Getty Images
The “Walk of Shame” also included the former prince, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, and the late billionaire Steve Jobs.
Former President Bill Clinton also featured in the gallery. The 79-year-old appeared before the House Oversight Committee on Friday. “I did nothing wrong,” he insisted, adding that he had “no idea” about Epstein’s crimes during the period the two were in contact, decades ago.
“My brief acquaintance with Epstein ended years before his crimes came to light,” Clinton said, noting that he would“not have flown on his plane if I had any inkling of what he was doing.”
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
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