On December 14, 2023, a Georgian-language Facebook account published a video claiming that children from the Disney Cruise were taken to Jeffrey Epstein’s island. Therefore, the author of the video encourages people to avoid watching Disney products at all.
The claim that Disney took children to Jeffrey Epstein’s Island as part of its cruises is disinformation. Similar information has been circulating in the past as well, and as a result of verification by various media outlets, it was determined that it was false.
Information similar to the claim made in the video has been circulating since 2021, mostly by X (former Twitter) users. As their main supporting argument, they publish a cruise statement that they say belongs to Disney. The announcement states that the second swimming stop of the tour will be at “Little St. James Island.” This island belonged to American billionaire Jeffrey Epstein, who was arrested twice on charges of pedophilia and child sex trafficking. He committed suicide in prison in 2019, during his second arrest, before his trial.
The allegations against Disney have been verified by the American fact-checking organization Snopes and the British media Independent, and have been assessed as false claims based on three main reasons. First, the announcement mentions that there is a snorkeling stop near the island, which indicates that the ship will stop near the island so that the tour participants can swim in the water. Therefore, this does not mean that visitors will visit the island itself. It is also important to emphasize that the statement does not belong to Disney itself. These and similar tours are recommended by Disney during the cruise, however, they are carried out by an outside company, the activities are selected by this company and payment is required if you wish to participate in it.
Additionally, it should be noted that the site from which the photos of the announcement were obtained is not affiliated with Disney. The main purpose of this site is to refer people interested in Disney cruises to travel agencies. In 2021, Disney told The Associated Press that the tour had no connection to the island itself, was operated by another company, and that visiting “Little St. James Island” was never part of Disney’s plans.
In addition to this claim, there were also reports that Disney wanted to build an amusement park on Epstein Island, although Disney denied this information. In December 2023, it was falsely reported that Disney made an animated film about the pedophile crimes of Jeffrey Epstein and Bill Clinton. Read more in the “Myth Detector” article:
About the Source:
The Georgian-language Facebook account “Shuki Samayasgan” [Light from Samaya] belongs to a TikTok blogger Morganne C Samaya, who often publishes conspiracies about vaccination, the pandemic, global governance, etc. The false information spread by the user has not been verified by “Myth Detector” in the past.
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