Wait, is that viral video of Jeffrey Epstein in prison real? Here’s the truth

If you have been anywhere on social media this week, you have likely seen a grainy, 12-second video claiming to show the final moments of Jeffrey Epstein in his prison cell. The footage is everywhere, because it briefly appeared on an official government website.

Credit: Department of Justice

Before you fall down a conspiracy rabbit hole, there is a very simple explanation for why this video is definitely not real.

The confusion started on Monday when the US Department of Justice released the video as part of a massive data dump containing over 11,000 files related to the Epstein case. Because the clip was posted on a Justice.gov URL, many people assumed it was a piece of evidence finally being made public.

In reality, the DOJ included the file because a man from Florida had emailed it to federal investigators in 2021 asking if it was real. The agency is currently under massive pressure to comply with a new transparency law, which has resulted in them uploading almost everything in their files, including random queries from the public.

‼️🇺🇸: The US DOJ just released what was supposed to be a video of Jeffrey Epstein attempting to commit suic1de. 👀

HOWEVER it is a FAKE that was published on YouTube 5 years ago by user chadchaddington5164.

WHY did the DOJ release a FAKE VIDEO? 🤨 pic.twitter.com/fkdCZNaHkE

— Diligent Denizen 🇺🇸 (@DiligentDenizen) December 22, 2025

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There are several clear reasons why we know the footage is a fake. Investigation by BBC Verify and Wired magazine traced the clip back to a YouTube video uploaded in 2020 where the creator explicitly stated the footage was a rendering made with 3D graphics. When you look closely at the video, the visual red flags are obvious. The objects in the cell lack three-dimensional depth, and a cluster of shapes near the top of the frame looks more like a video game animation than actual CCTV.

The video also contradicts official records of Epstein’s time at the Metropolitan Correctional Center. A 2023 Bureau of Prisons report confirmed that no camera was actually recording inside Epstein’s cell on the night he died.

Credit: Shutterstock/Epstein Estate

The video also shows the cell lights turned on, which is standard for an inmate on suicide watch, but records show Epstein had been removed from suicide watch weeks prior. Even the door in the video does not match the layout of the cell shown in verified crime scene photos.

While the Epstein Library released by the government contains plenty of real and disturbing information, this specific video is just a piece of internet CGI that accidentally ended up in the official archives.

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Featured image credit: Department of Justice, Shutterstock/Epstein Estate