Did John Roberts Vacation on Jeffrey Epstein’s Island?

No.

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Viral social media posts claim to show Chief Justice John Roberts on Jeffery Epstein’s island. 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CI62ubLh1Zx

The photo in question had gone viral previously, with posts from 2018 and 2019 claiming it showed former President Bill Clinton on Epstein’s island. The images were, in fact, taken in January 2017 at the Casa de Campo Resort in the Dominican Republic. Snopes noted at the time that one of Clinton’s friends named George Nader (not, as Snopes proved, a sex offender of the same name) shared one of the images to his Instagram. Several Spanish-language news outlets reported on the trip and shared the pictures in question.

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  1. Avatar photo
    Merrijane

    People are honestly claiming this? A sizable minority had gone completely nuts.

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  2. Keith Schooley

    I appreciate the work you do on these fact checks, Alec, but the prominence of the Snopes link makes it read like you simply found the photo on Snopes and reproduced their work. It would also be good to include a refutation of the underlying accusation that the photo is intended to buttress: "There is no evidence that Justice Roberts ever visited Epstein's island" (assuming, of course, that that is indeed the case).

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    1. Avatar photocircle-angle-nib
      Alec Dent vertical-nib Author

      My fact check sought to answer a different question than the Snopes fact check answered. The Snopes piece from 2019 dealt specifically with the question of if Bill Clinton had vacationed with a sex offender on Epstein's island and didn't touch on Roberts at all. It was relevant to my fact check insofar as it is significant that this photograph has gone viral (and been debunked before), and that Snopes proved over a year ago when and where the picture was taken. The picture originated with media outlets in the Dominican Republic, which Snopes referenced, meaning I had to reference the same outlets myself and didn't want to give the appearance of copying Snopes without acknowledging that they'd uncovered this information first.

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  3. Avatar photo
    Ohio Gas Hog

    Some of these fact checks make me laugh. I know it has to be done, but how do not just respond with an eye roll and a "Really??".

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