‘Propaganda Slop’: Lightning Rod Journalist Calls Epstein Saga the ‘Worst Covered Story’ in Decades

(Photo Credit: Piers Morgan Uncensored)

Prominent Substack writer Michael Tracey argued that the Jeffrey Epstein saga stands out as the “worst covered story” in decades in a new feature story published by The Hollywood Reporter on Tuesday.

THR dubbed Tracey the “Face of Epstein Skepticism” in its headline, and with good reason. Tracey has fought the widespread belief that Epstein was running a massive pedophile network for rich politicians and celebrities on both his Substack blog and on X, where users frequently rip him for questioning how sordid Epstein really was.

“I am more convinced than ever,” Tracey told The Hollywood Reporer, “that this is by far the worst covered story of my lifetime.”

Writer Seth Abramovitch noted Tracey does not believe Epstein was innocent, but that the coverage of his crimes has suffered from “narrative inflation.” Tracey also criticized streaming services like Netflix for pumping out Epstein-focused series, saying it’s nothing more than “propaganda slop.”

“The documented crimes are horrific enough,” Tracey said. “You don’t need to turn it into a grand unifying conspiracy theory that explains the entire world.”

Epstein pleaded guilty to prostitution charges involving a minor in Florida in 2008; he was facing federal sex trafficking charges in 2019 when he died in prison. His accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year sentence for multiple sex crime convictions, including for trafficking a minor.

The public fixation on Epstein spurred lawmakers to force the Justice Department to release millions of files tied to Epstein. Attorney General Pam Bondi recently said the DOJ has complied with federal law and released “all” Epstein documents, following the batch of 3.5 million documents published at the end of January.

President Donald Trump’s critics have focused on his once-chummy relationship with Epstein, but the president has said the files “absolve” him of any wrongdoing. One released FBI document demonstrated that Trump thanked Florida cops for investigating Epstein and told them to “focus” on “evil” Maxwell back in 2006.

Tracey — during a recent viral appearance on Piers Morgan’s show — argued the public, media, and congressional focus on Epstein has morphed into a “brainless hysteria.”

He has been criticized for his coverage of other hot button topics in the past as well, like when he said journalists were falling for “the Ukraine government’s deliberately-crafted war propaganda” about the Bucha Massacre in 2022. Tracey said his comments on the Russian atrocities were taken out of context.

On the coverage of Epstein, Tracey told the Reporter that the media has not done a good enough job of separating Epstein’s crimes against minors from claims made by women made above the age of consent.

“There’s no worse accusation than child abuse,” he said. “And when you level it, it has to be backed by something more than vibes.”

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