Internet conspiracy theorists are having a field day claiming that Jeffrey Epstein has been alive and well this whole time…and playing Fortnite from Tel Aviv.
The theory popped up after a fresh batch of Justice Department documents from the Epstein files dropped last Friday. In the documents were mentions of a YouTube account that Epstein used with the handle "littlestjeff1," the same username as the Fortnite account.
The Jeffrey Epstein Fortnite conspiracy theory, explained
According to viral posts on social media, Epstein supposedly played Fortnite under the handle "littlestjeff1." That username mattered because it matched the YouTube handle he was verified to have used, as listed in the newly released files.
Because Fortnite player stats are publicly searchable, people rushed to Fortnite Tracker to check receipts. There, they found an account with the same name. While that alone proved nothing, speculation took over anyway.
One post explained the leap in logic from Epstein's death by reported suicide to Fortnite gamer:
"Maybe Jeffrey Epstein is still alive," @Pirat_Nation wrote in a since-deleted tweet. "In the Epstein files, there is a receipt from YouTube where his username is littlestjeff1."
Then the post added that Fortnite Tracker showed an account with that name buying V-Bucks and ranking Silver 1 in Chapter 5 Season 1, which came years after his death.
Meanwhile, others focused on how absurd the theory sounded. "The concept of finding out Jeffrey Epstein is alive all because of a Fortnite tracker is f*cking killing me 😭😭" joked @CS11__.
@kirawontmiss leaned into the chaos, asking, "Do you know how insane it would be if it got confirmed that Epstein was alive this entire time because of Fortnite?"
A separate X user shared alleged stats tied to the account. It claimed wins stretching into 2025 and past activity flagged in Israel. Because Fortnite Chapter 1, Season 10 ran from August to October 2019, some insisted the timeline looked suspicious. Shortly after the posts spread, the Fortnite account went private.
Did Jeffrey Epstein play Fortnite? No, not so much
There is no proof that Epstein ever played Fortnite. Although the files mentioned V-Bucks purchases, the documents were redacted. Therefore, no one confirmed who actually made those purchases.
One person noticed the change in real time. "Something weird just happened," @xIsraelExposedx wrote. "I was looking at Jeffrey Epstein’s fortnight account, then suddenly it went private."
Meanwhile, the Fortnite account turning private suggested something else, like the account belonging to a random person… but there was a much simpler answer. And it was one provided by the official Fortnite X account itself.
"Hey Official Fortnite here - this was a ruse by a Fortnite player. A few days ago, an existing Fortnite account owner changed their username from something totally unrelated to littlestjeff1, following the revelation of littlestjeff1 as a name on YouTube. These Fortnite trackers only display your current name, not any prior changes to it," @FortniteStatus explained.
"We have no record of the subject's email addresses referenced in the public document existing in the Epic account system. Since the public document releases, people have created Fortnite accounts with similar-looking email addresses and user names."
The internet is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s newsletter here.
