An anonymous 4Chan user posted that Jeffrey Epstein died 38 minutes before anyone else shared the news. According to newly declassified government files, the FBI investigated the 4Chan user and hit a dead end.
On Aug. 13, 2019, Buzzfeed News‘ Jane Lytvynenko reported that at around 8:16 a.m. on the day Epstein died on Aug. 10, someone posted on 4Chan, “[D]ont ask me how I know, but Epstein died an hour ago from hanging, cardiac arrest. Screencap this,” along with a picture of Pepe the frog, frequently shared by alt-right trolls.
About 38 minutes later, ABC News Aaron Katersky broke the news on X. Epstein died at Manhattan’s Metropolitan Correctional Center, awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges in what was officially ruled a suicide.
The anonymous 4Chan user went on to provide details about efforts to save Epstein’s life, leading some to think they may have been a first responder.
The Fire Department of New York investigated the 4Chan matter and determined, “this alleged information did not come from the Fire Department,” Buzzfeed News reported that year.
The FBI investigated the 4Chan posts
At 8:16 a.m. on August 10, 2019, an anonymous 4Chan user posted, "don't ask me how I know, but Epstein died an hour ago from hanging, cardiac arrest. Screencap this."
— Jacob Shamsian
It was 38 minutes before @AaronKatersky tweeted the news of Jeffrey Epstein's death.
How did a 4Chan anon know? pic.twitter.com/zTF24Jk2Lc(@JayShams) February 26, 2026
Now, recently released government documents confirm that the FBI also looked into the 4Chan post, subpoenaing 4Chan for the user’s IP address, per Business Insider. The FBI obtained the IP address, but it led to a VPN or proxy service, and the user remained anonymous.
According to the investigation, the user made just four posts, and as well as describing Epstein’s treatment after he was found unresponsive in his cell, also posted and then deleted that they believed his body may have been switched out. There’s no evidence this happened.
Despite their efforts, federal investigators never determined who the 4Chan poster was.
The Epstein-4Chan connection
The newly released records also show that Epstein himself had some level of interaction with 4chan’s founder, Christopher “moot” Poole.
Emails from 2011 discuss a lunch Epstein and Poole had after an introduction by Boris Nikolic, with Epstein describing Poole as “very bright.”
The Verge asked Poole about whether Epstein had anything to do with creating 4chan’s politics board /pol/ — a forum later tied to the rise of QAnon and far‑right subcultures, among them early reports of Epstein’s crimes.
According to The Verge, Poole said,
Epstein had nothing to do with the reintroduction of a politics board to 4chan, nor anything else related to the site. The decision to add the board was made weeks beforehand, and the board was added almost 24 hours prior to a first, chance encounter at a social event.”
Poole said Epstein’s assistant reached out to him afterward, “and I met with him one time for an unmemorable lunch meeting. This happened at a time when I was meeting hundreds of people a month while speaking and networking at tech events.”
