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Fake RNC midterm convention link reroutes to DOJ Epstein files website

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Cite

Rowe, R. (2026, September 4). Fake RNC midterm convention link reroutes to DOJ Epstein files website. Washington Examiner. https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/justice/4714331/fake-rnc-midterm-convention-doj-epstein-files/

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Washington Examiner · collected 2026-09-04 · by Rena Rowe

Quick Summary

A website posing as an official site for the Republican National Committee's midterm convention in Dallas was redirecting users to the Justice Department's website containing records related to Jeffrey Epstein as of Friday afternoon. The fake site, gopdallas2026.com, claims to provide information about next week's event, which will feature President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance. Approximately 50,000 volumes of the released Epstein files have been printed and bound by the Institute for Primary Facts, a nonprofit group curating an exhibit at the convention. The timing of the exhibit's arrival in Dallas is deliberate, coinciding with the Republican convention.
Written by AI on 2026-09-04, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

A mock website posing as the official Republican National Committee's (RNC) midterm convention in Dallas redirected users to the Department of Justice's website containing files about convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The fake site, gopdallas2026.com, was listed at the top of Google search results for hours on Friday and promised information about the convention, but instead took visitors to a webpage with records related to Epstein. The RNC denounced the website on social media, directing users to the official GOPConvention.com site instead. It is unclear who created the fake website, but the RNC blamed Democrats, suggesting they were behind it as a prank. The incident drew attention to the Epstein files, which have been a subject of scrutiny and controversy. The Republican midterm convention is set to take place in Dallas on Wednesday and Thursday of this week, with President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance expected to attend.

Written for “RNC Website Prank” on 2026-10-30, grounded in this article and the 2 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 RNC Website Prank
Politics · 3 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
The Independent
Hedges 3 of 24 claims Outlet record 59/100
Al Jazeera
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 2 of 29 claims Outlet record 60/100
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
12
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 12 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
70/100
Washington Examiner's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
3
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-04 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Washington Examiner · 3800 article(s) · 7 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 7 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Rena Rowe
98 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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🔮 President Donald Trump is set to hold a rally on Wednesday in Chillicothe, Ohio, at 7 p.m., less than a week before the 2026 midterm election.
🔮 Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh is set to announce the central bank’s interest rate decision on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m.
🔮 Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to campaign with President Donald Trump in Ohio on Thursday, expanding his role on the campaign trail as Republicans travel across the country to shore up support ahead of next week’s midterm elections.
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🔮 President Donald Trump is set to hold a rally at 5:30 p.m. Eastern on Thursday in Sioux City, Iowa, to boost GOP candidates ahead of the looming Nov. 3 election.
🔮 Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr warned broadcasters against airing fabricated election polls, saying stations could face regulatory scrutiny if they knowingly mislead viewers through false polling data.
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🔮 Jackson’s campaign told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Jackson would “be serving as a force multiplier and rallying Republicans in Cherokee County to turnout” instead of heading to the Saturday rally.
2026-10-19 · assertive framing · Rick Jackson to skip Trump campaign rally in Georgia
Also by Rena Rowe
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 98 articles by Rena Rowe →

Topics

Dallas Republican the Institute for Primary Facts the Justice Department’s the Republican National Committee’s

Subjects

Dallas GPE · 5× Epstein PERSON · 3× the Institute for Primary Facts ORG · 3× Jeffrey Epstein PERSON · 2× Republican NORP · 2× Donald Trump PERSON · 1× Justice Department ORG · 1× the Justice Department’s ORG · 1× the Republican National Committee’s ORG · 1× the Republican Party’s ORG · 1×

Narrative

The “Donald J. Trump and Jeffrey Epstein Memorial Reading Room,” along with an accompanying mobile exhibit, is being organized by the Institute for Primary Facts, a nonprofit group that has printed and bound the released Epstein files into thousands of volumes.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-04
🔮 The official Republican convention website, gopconvention.com, directs visitors to information about the event, which will be held in Dallas on Wednesday and Thursday.
2026-09-04 · Washington Examiner
Fake RNC midterm convention link reroutes to DOJ Epstein files website · assertive framing

Claims (12 extracted, 0 hedged)

A website posing as an informational site for the Republican National Committee’s upcoming midterm convention in Dallas was redirecting users to the Justice Department’s website for the Jeffrey Epstein files as of Friday afternoon. asserted
website → pose → afternoon
The website, gopdallas2026.com, advertises itself as the “2026 RNC Midterm Convention” site and promotes information about next week’s event. asserted
website → advertise → event
The site then redirects visitors to a Justice Department webpage containing records related to Epstein, the convicted sex offender whose connections to prominent political, business, and social figures have drawn extensive scrutiny. asserted
connections → redirect → scrutiny
The official Republican convention website, gopconvention.com, directs visitors to information about the event, which will be held in Dallas on Wednesday and Thursday. asserted
which → direct → Wednesday
The convention is the Republican Party’s first midterm convention and is set to feature President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance as the party prepares for the November elections. asserted
party → set → elections
An Epstein files exhibit curated by the Institute for Primary Facts is also scheduled to arrive in Dallas during the convention. asserted
exhibit → curate → convention
The “Donald J. Trump and Jeffrey Epstein Memorial Reading Room,” along with an accompanying mobile exhibit, is being organized by the Institute for Primary Facts, a nonprofit group that has printed and bound the released Epstein files into thousands of volumes. asserted
that → accompany → volumes
The exhibit is scheduled to be in Dallas from Tuesday through Sept. 11, overlapping with the Republican convention. asserted
exhibit → schedule → convention
David Garrett, executive director of the Institute for Primary Facts, told the Washington Examiner that the timing of the exhibit’s arrival in Dallas was deliberate. asserted
timing → tell → Dallas
“We wanted to be where the conversation is happening, and the conversation is going to be there,” Garrett said. asserted
Garrett → want → ?
“We wanted to go to Texas anyway, and it just seemed like good timing.” asserted
it → want → timing
During the GOP’s two-day convention, Republicans are expected to focus on the party’s agenda heading into the 2026 midterm elections. asserted
Republicans → expect → elections
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