Actor Mel Gibson is regularly cast as QAnon folk hero on social media, sometimes starring in misinformation about high-profile people participating in a child sex trafficking cabal.
One March 5 Instagram post, for example, claims Gibson recently released a video linking British royalty, a former president and a media mogul participating in satanic rituals on the former island of Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex offender.
“BREAKING: MEL GIBSON JUST RELEASED A VIDEO THAT SHOWS THE S@ T@N1C RITUALS WHICH TOOK PLACE ON JEFFREY EPSTEIN’S ISLAND!,” the post says. “THE VIDEO WAS RECORDED IN 2010 AND IT FEATURES PRINCE ANDREW, BILL GATES, OPRAH, BARRACK OBAMA AND MANY MORE!” (Obama’s first name is spelled “Barack.”)
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Gibson’s representatives didn’t immediately respond to PolitiFact’s questions about the post. We found no evidence to support the claim, including credible news reports or statements from Gibson.
A New York judge recently unsealed documents in a court case related to Epstein, renewing claims about an alleged list connecting celebrities and politicians to the late, disgraced financier.
But searching through Epstein’s flight logs and address book, news reports, and newly unsealed documents from the case against Epstein’s former girlfriend and associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, we found no evidence that former President Barack Obama was linked to Epstein.
Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates, meanwhile, did appear in Epstein’s flight logs, as did Prince Andrew, a member of the British royal family. One of Epstein’s victims, Virginia Giuffre, also filed a lawsuit against Prince Andrew in 2021, accusing him of sexual assault and intentional infliction of emotional distress while she was a minor. Prince Andrew denied these allegations, and he and Giuffre settled in 2022.
We rate claims that Gibson released a video that shows satanic rituals on Epstein’s island False.
This fact check was originally published by PolitiFact, which is part of the Poynter Institute. See the sources for this fact check here.
