An Instagram video purportedly shows Ghislaine Maxwell free in Quebec. But the clip turned out to be a deepfake – the 19-year-old creator admitted it himself.
Ghislaine Maxwell is one of the most prominent figures in the case surrounding the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. For over a decade, she and Epstein actively built a ring that abused young women and underage girls. For this she was sentenced to 20 years in prison for human trafficking, which she is currently serving in the USA. Now, however, rumors were circulating that the convicted woman was at large.
Ghislaine Maxwell at large in Quebec?
The rumors in question are a video that was recently uploaded to the Instagram platform. In it, Ghislaine Maxwell – or a woman who at least looks very similar to her – can be seen on the streets of the Canadian city of Quebec.
In the 13-second clip, an unidentified person approaches the woman and asks: “Ghislaine? Do I know you? You’re not Ghislaine?” The woman replies: “No. Sorry.” The person filming then says: “I used to order pizza from her all the time.” And she “always delivered”.
Video turned out to be a deepfake
When watching a video like this, the question quickly arises: How can a convicted criminal be at large? As is known, Epstein’s accomplice is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence, which she was sentenced to in June 2022. The indictment at the time said Ghislaine Maxwell played a crucial “role in a plan to sexually exploit and abuse multiple underage girls” with Jeffrey Epstein “over the course of a decade.”
It is therefore unthinkable that the now 64-year-old could be seen outside of prison. The matter quickly became clear: the video turned out to be a so-called deepfake, which the creator himself admitted. Specifically, it would be a “face swap”.
The account where the clip was uploaded is called clump.qc and the video can still be found there – it now has seven million views, has been commented on thousands of times and has generated several news articles.
19-year-old apologizes for video
There is apparently a 19-year-old creator behind the account who had previously published deepfake content on his account. The Canadian Press also reports that the owner of the account apologized for the video in an Instagram story. He wrote: “It was never my intention to spread misinformation but to create satirical content and I am sorry to anyone who fell for it.”
He added that he would not delete the video. The reason he gave was: “It’s Instagram, not a news agency.” He also received hundreds of messages regarding the clip, including threats and insults.
