On March 12, someone who was thought to be Jeffery Epstein was seen driving in South Florida. Someone passing by pulled out their phone to record instantly. The video was posted to social media and went viral instantly. The internet was suddenly filled with conspiracies about Jeffrey Epstein being alive. This lookalike has made a TikTok account (@not_jeffepstein) debunking the situation and claiming the online name “Palm Beach Pete.” His account blew up very quickly and gained attention from more popular people, even getting him on the Jimmy Kimmel Live show for a brief discussion.
This has caused a lot of controversy over whether it is in fact Jeffrey Epstein, or simply someone who is rising to fame for being a look alike. Palm Beach Pete has certainly been enjoying the fame with over 727.6K followers currently on TikTok and around 164K on instagram. Despite the attention, Pete simply wants to be known as “Palm Beach Pete” as he doesn’t like being associated with such a horrible person.
However, not everyone is convinced that Palm Beach Pete is who he says he is. The background in some of his tiktoks contain oddly similar details to some of Epstein’s property; however, this could have been altered with AI. People tend to look for very small errors in his videos that could lead to the conclusion of his videos being completely AI generated. However, Pete has been spotted around public and many fans have then posted either photos or videos of him; consequently, the AI claim just simply doesn’t add up.
Another theory is that this entire thing could be one big social experiment. Many have been worried about distractions from the actual files. It almost seems like this lookalike is now the main focus, as he is slowly starting to gain more attention each day. This has led some to believe that Pete could be in on some sick joke that is meant to fool people who are really concerned about if Epstein is still out there or not.
WMC freshman Aliana Sudol gives her opinion on the situation. “I think Palm Beach Pete isn’t Epstein. Although his features may be similar, Epstein’s are more prominent and you can see the differences” Sudol said. Comparing both individuals can definitely be tricky due to some of the differences and similarities.
WMC freshman Juliana Byank also shares her point of view. “I don’t have a definite opinion until more information is released, but it definitely seems suspicious at certain points” Byank said. Overall, the situation is confusing to many, especially when the original topic of Epstein is so extreme.
