Summary
- The release of thousands of pages of documents by the US Department of Justice related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has brought a wave of renewed attention to the names appearing in them, and, inevitably, a parallel wave of false claims about names that do not appear at all.
- According to a fact-check by The News International, Shakira’s name does not appear in any of the released court documents, flight logs, or the wider millions of pages contained in the Department of Justice releases.
- Appearing in the Epstein files does not automatically imply wrongdoing, as names appear in the documents for a variety of reasons and contexts.
The release of thousands of pages of documents by the US Department of Justice related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has brought a wave of renewed attention to the names appearing in them, and, inevitably, a parallel wave of false claims about names that do not appear at all.
Colombian singer Shakira is one of the people being falsely linked to the files. Multiple social media accounts have circulated claims suggesting she was mentioned in the released documents, but those claims are not accurate. According to a fact-check by The News International, Shakira’s name does not appear in any of the released court documents, flight logs, or the wider millions of pages contained in the Department of Justice releases. Comprehensive lists compiled from the documents contain no record of her.
The documents themselves do contain names of well-known public figures who had documented ties to Epstein. Among those whose names appear in the files are Britain’s former Prince Andrew, who faces allegations of groping a woman, US President Donald Trump, and several European royals, among other high-profile individuals. The release has reignited public debate and media scrutiny around those who genuinely appear in the records.
However, the volume and reach of the document release has also created conditions for misinformation to spread rapidly, with social media users latching onto names of celebrities and public figures without verifying whether those names actually appear in the files. Shakira’s case is one example of how quickly false associations can circulate in the absence of fact-checking.
The distinction matters. Appearing in the Epstein files does not automatically imply wrongdoing, as names appear in the documents for a variety of reasons and contexts. But being falsely linked to those documents, particularly given the serious nature of the crimes involved, can cause significant and unwarranted reputational harm to individuals who have no documented connection to Epstein whatsoever. Shakira is one such individual, and the claims circulating about her are, according to the available documentation, baseless.
