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By Hollie Silverman
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A video of a man who closely resembles sex offender Jeffrey Epstein circulated widely on social media after being posted by a Florida resident and amplified by a popular Instagram account.
The images are driving renewed online speculation about Epstein’s 2019 death, which authorities ruled a suicide, according to multiple reports and official records.
The clip, initially shared Friday by Florida resident Andrew Posey and reshared Sunday by the OnlyInFlorida Instagram account, showed a man in a white backward baseball cap and sunglasses driving a convertible with the top down in South Florida.
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Why It Matters
The video reignited conspiracy narratives surrounding Epstein’s death despite official findings that he died by suicide in a New York City jail cell in 2019, a conclusion reached by the city’s medical examiner and supported by federal reviews, underscoring how viral posts can amplify unsupported claims online.
There is no evidence Epstein is alive or that the person in the video was Epstein, highlighting the enduring reach of misinformation when social videos lack context and identification.
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What To Know
Posey posted the video on Friday before it gained traction when the OnlyInFlorida account reshared it on Sunday, adding on-screen text that read: “Epstein out here in South Florida,” Mediaite reported.
The footage showed the man behind the wheel of a convertible with the top down. The post accumulated thousands of likes as it spread across platforms, according to the report.
The man in the clip has not been identified and there is no corroborating evidence that he is Epstein, the Economic Times reported. The driver is a likely lookalike and noted no proof connecting the person to Epstein, according to the report.
The caption on an Instagram clip read: “Epstein out here in South Florida.”
As the clip spread, social media users revived long-running conspiracy claims about Epstein’s fate, despite the official findings and absence of identification of the driver in the video.
Mediaite noted that commenters alternated between believing the driver resembled Epstein and dismissing the resemblance as common for middle-aged men in South Florida.
When Did Jeffrey Epstein Die?
Epstein died in August 2019 at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges.
The New York City medical examiner ruled the death a suicide by hanging after an autopsy.
Subsequent federal reviews examined Bureau of Prisons failures surrounding Epstein’s detention and suicide prevention protocols.
The Department of Justice Office of Inspector General’s 2023 evaluation detailed systemic lapses, aligning with the official determination that Epstein died by suicide.
What People Are Saying
The Department of Justice Office of Inspector General, in a 2023 report: The Separate from the OIG’s investigation, which focused on the conduct of BOP personnel, the FBI concurrently investigated whether Epstein’s death was the result of criminal conduct by any non-BOP actors. Among other things, the FBI investigated the cause of Epstein’s death and determined it was not the result of a criminal act. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, City of New York, determined that Epstein died by suicide. While the OIG determined MCC New York staff engaged in significant misconduct and dereliction of their duties, we did not uncover evidence contradicting the FBI’s determination regarding the absence of criminality in connection with Epstein’s death."
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