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By Jasmine Laws
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Fresh conspiracy theories about Jeffrey Epstein are circulating online after X users dug out the late convicted sex offender's YouTube username—littlestjeff1—from the trove of files slowly being released by the Department of Justice and falsely linked it to an active Fortnite account.
The claim is based solely on the appearance of the same username on the third‑party website Fortnite Tracker and is not supported by the released records or any official platform data; there is no credible evidence that Epstein ever played Fortnite or maintained a gaming account.
Fortnite said on X: "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.
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"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."
Why It Matters
Epstein was arrested on federal charges related to the sex trafficking of minors in July 2019 and was found dead by suicide in his New York jail cell the following month.
On January 30, the Department of Justice released more than 3 million pages of material under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, a law compelling the release of the government's files from the Epstein investigation.
This most recent release of files, containing around 2,000 videos and 180,000 images, has fueled various theories about the sex offender and prompted further scrutiny. It has resulted in multiple prominent figures in law, politics, international affairs and the arts resigning from their posts as well.
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What To Know
The released records show that "littlestjeff1” was Epstein’s YouTube username and that it was linked to his known email address, jeevacation@gmail.com. Another document in the files is an email letting someone know that a $25.95 charge "was for VBucks on Fortnite." V‑Bucks (short for Vinderbucks) are the in‑game virtual currency used in Fortnite. The sender and recipient of that email, dated May 7, 2019, are both redacted.
The tech news account @Pirat_Nation, which has more than 285,000 followers on X, shared a screenshot of that email, erroneously using it as evidence that Epstein purchased V-Bucks. Using that document and the fact that Epstein's YouTube username matched an active Fortnite account name led @Pirat_Nation to speculate, "Maybe Jeffrey Epstein is still alive."
One X account, @Truthpole, also wrote on the platform that the Fortnite account littlestjeff1 had past activity flagged in Israel, dated to 2025.
The account, which has more than 141,000 followers on X, wrote: "The profile went private shortly after going viral, which aligns with recent X discussions." When Newsweek tried to view the same profile on Fortnite Tracker on Friday morning, the account had been made private.
Marjorie Taylor Greene, the former Republican congresswoman representing a Georgia district, also reshared @Truthpole's post on X, commenting on it with two exclamation marks.
Other social media users have found the swirling misinformation amusing. One X user wrote that "the concept of finding out Jeffrey Epstein is alive all because of a Fortnite tracker is f***ing killing me." Another wrote: "It would be funny if Epstein is found alive because he didn't want to use a different Fortnite account."
What People Are Saying
@DissidentMedia, an X account with more than 85,000 followers on the platform, wrote on X: "Since we now apparently live in a reality where the most bizarre possibility is what is real, we have to inform you that Jeffrey Epstein‘s Fortnite account is live and active in Israel multiple times in the last year alone."
Mario Nawfal, a political commentator with more than 2.9 million followers on X, shared the conspiracy theory on the platform: "Strap in, this is wild. DOJ files show Epstein had the email "littlestjeff@yahoo.com" linked to his main 'jeevacation@gmail.com.' A May 2019 receipt shows a $25.95 VBucks purchase on Fortnite. Internet sleuths found a Fortnite account 'littlestjeff1' with an Israeli flag. The stats show activity in Chapter 1 Season 10, which ran from August to October 2019. Epstein died August 10, 2019. The account shows wins logged into 2025. The profile went private TODAY after this went viral. Someone was playing Fortnite on Jeffrey Epstein's account after he was dead. Who had access? That could be the only plausible explanation, right?
Update 2/6/26, 3:06 p.m. ET: This article was updated with comment from Fortnite.
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