‘Calling… Epstein Island’: Journalists Phoning White House Get Quite the Surprise

AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File

Several reporters from The Washington Post’s Style section tasked with dialing up the White House for details on what designer outfit First Lady Melania Trump was wearing on Wednesday found, shockingly, they were calling “Epstein Island” – thanks to the work of an unknown troll.

While the number for the White House switchboard was absolutely correct, the label that appeared on some phones was not, instead referencing the widely used nickname for Little St. James, Jeffrey Epstein’s private Caribbean island, where prosecutors said much of the convicted pedophile’s abuse took place.

(Screengrab via The Washington Post)

The glitch, according to The Post, appeared to only affect Android devices after a manipulated listing briefly attached the name to the White House number via Google’s caller identification system. iPhones, the reporters found, showed no such name.

After the journalists contacted Google, the company confirmed the issue stemmed from a “fake edit” in Google Maps that was “briefly” incorporated into its call-screening feature. Google spokesperson Matthew Flegal told the newspaper that the change violated policy, had been reversed, and that the responsible user was blocked.

By Friday, the Post reported, calls to the same number displayed no label.

The episode comes months after the release of the Epstein files and against the backdrop of ongoing scrutiny over Trump’s past association with the disgraced financier, who died in custody in 2019 while facing sex trafficking charges.

Trump previously said he knew Epstein socially before a falling-out, but has always denied knowledge of Epstein’s criminal activity.

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