Does the ownership of the late pedophile financier Jeffery Epstein's island also have ties to the Clinton Foundation? No, that's not true: This is an entirely false claim from a known satire site.
The claim appeared an article published by dailyworldupdate.us on December 22, 2020, titled "Shell Corporation That Legally Owns Epstein's Island Traced To the Clinton Foundation" (archived here) which opened:
An undercover investigation into the actual deeded owners of Jeffrey Epstein's private island has uncovered some shocking insight into who was responsible for covering up all the heinous crimes over the years.
That investigation has uncovered a shell company that can be traced back to none other than the Clinton Foundation.
Users on social media saw this title, description and thumbnail:
Shell Corporation That Legally Owns Epstein's Island Traced To the Clinton Foundation
The house of cards is falling.
The site comes with a clear satire disclaimer at the top of page:
The satirical article falsely links Epstein, a convicted sex offender known for his preferences for underage girls, to the foundation established by former President Bill Clinton. Epstein committed suicide in jail while awaiting trial on charges of sex trafficking underage girls.
Dailyworldupdate.us is part of the "America's Last Line of Defense" network of satire websites run by self-professed liberal troll Christopher Blair from Maine, along with a loose confederation of friends and allies. He runs several websites and Facebook pages with visible satire disclaimers prominently displayed. They mostly publish made-up stories with headlines specifically created to trigger Republicans, conservatives and evangelical Christians into angrily sharing or commenting on the story on Facebook without actually reading the full article, exposing them to mockery and ridicule by fans of the sites and pages.
Sites in Blair's network have an "about" page that reads (in part):
About Satire
Before you complain and decide satire is synonymous with "comedy":sat·ire
ˈsaˌtī(ə)r
noun
The use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues.Everything on this website is fiction. It is not a lie and it is not fake news because it is not real. If you believe that it is real, you should have your head examined. Any similarities between this site's pure fantasy and actual people, places, and events are purely coincidental and all images should be considered altered and satirical. See above if you're still having an issue with that satire thing.
Articles from Blair's sites frequently get copied by "real" fake news sites who omit the satire disclaimer and other hints the stories are fake.
Blair and his operation were profiled by the Washington Post on November 17, 2018, by Eli Saslow:
'Nothing on this page is real': How lies become truth in online America
November 17 The only light in the house came from the glow of three computer monitors, and Christopher Blair, 46, sat down at a keyboard and started to type. His wife had left for work and his children were on their way to school, but waiting online was his other community, an unreality where nothing was exactly as it seemed.
NewsGuard, a company that uses trained journalist to rank the reliability of websites, describes dailyworldupdate.us as:
A news site that publishes false stories and hoaxes that are often mistaken for real news. The site is part of a network run by hoax perpetrator Christopher Blair.
According to NewsGuard the site does not maintain basic standards of accuracy and accountability. Read their full assessment here.
