Stand up for the facts!

Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy.
We need your help.

More Info

I would like to contribute

News reporters and others wait to enter the Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse for the sex trafficking trial of Ghislaine Maxwell in New York City on Friday, December 3, 2021. An NYPD officer walks by microphones set up by the media. (AP) News reporters and others wait to enter the Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse for the sex trafficking trial of Ghislaine Maxwell in New York City on Friday, December 3, 2021. An NYPD officer walks by microphones set up by the media. (AP)

News reporters and others wait to enter the Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse for the sex trafficking trial of Ghislaine Maxwell in New York City on Friday, December 3, 2021. An NYPD officer walks by microphones set up by the media. (AP)

Ciara O'Rourke
By Ciara O'Rourke December 8, 2021

Many reporters are covering the Ghislaine Maxwell trial, despite claims otherwise

If Your Time is short

  • Reporters from many news organizations have filed stories, tweeted and more from Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex trafficking trial. 
 

Since Ghislaine Maxwell’s trial started on Nov. 29, misinformation has spread about how the sex trafficking case is playing out in the courtroom. 

We’ve already debunked claims that a late designer was a co-defendant in the trial and that the "hysteria" around the omicron variant was timed to coincide and distract from the legal proceedings.   

Another recent claim, that only one reporter is covering the trial, is also false. 

"Can you believe this trial is uncovering the largest sex trafficking caes in our entire world and there’s only one reporter on site?" the Dec. 6 post says. "This is insane how much this case is being downplayed because of the big names like Bill Clinton, Jay Z, Prince of England, Pope John Paul, etc. Cameras are allowed, no gag order… and silencio!"

This post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)

Ghislaine Maxwell was a friend of financier Jeffrey Epstein and she is accused of helping him sexually abuse minors. She has pleaded not guilty to federal charges of sex trafficking a minor, sex trafficking conspiracy, transporting a minor for the purposes of criminal sexual activity, and conspiring to entice minors to travel to engage in illegal sex acts. 

As we’ve previously reported, the media isn’t allowed to have cameras in the courtroom. Maxwell is being tried in federal court where, with few exceptions, cameras and recording devices have not been allowed for decades. 

Featured Fact-check

Any photographing, recording, or rebroadcasting of the proceedings is prohibited by law, according to the Department of Justice, though there are overflow rooms in the courthouse for reporters and spectators where they can watch live feeds of the trial. 

But that doesn’t mean reporters aren’t there. They are — and plenty of them. 

Miami Herald reporter Julie K. Brown, who in 2017 broke many of the stories that brought worldwide attention to circumstances that led to the case, has tweeted about her experiences waiting to get into the courthouse and about what she’s witnessing during the trial. Brown spoke on Reliable Sources about the conspiracy theories that the media isn’t covering the trial: "There’s so many media there that there’s, some days, three overflow courtrooms full of the public and media. So that isn’t an issue. The issue is the access to the actual courtroom where this is happening and the fact that there is a limited number of people who can actually get in."

CNN reporter Lauren del Valle has filed stories and tweeted about the trial. The New York Times, the New York Post, the Independent and the Associated Press have been providing live updates from the trial.

A spokesperson with the district court where Maxwell’s trial is underway told us in a statement that the trial is open to anyone who would like to attend, and that during opening statements more than 140 people were in attendance. 

"We have not yet turned anyone away from observing the trial," the court said in a statement. "That includes both media and the general public." 

We rate this post False.

 

Our Sources

Facebook post, Dec. 6, 2021

Associated Press, Evidence at Maxwell trial: massage table, unfolded in court, Dec. 3, 2021

Independent, Ghislaine Maxwell trial – live: Accuser says socialite felt her breasts, saw her naked in Epstein massage room, updated Dec. 7, 2021

New York Post, Ghislaine Maxwell trial: Live updates from Day 7, Dec. 7, 2021

CNN, Ghislaine Maxwell said Jeffrey Epstein needed to have sex three times a day, woman testifies, Dec. 6, 2021

The New York Times, Live Updates: Third Accuser Says Ghislaine Maxwell Facilitated Years of Abuse By Epstein, Dec. 7, 2021

Lauren del Valle Twitter account, visited Dec. 7, 2021

Julie K. Brown Twitter account, visited Dec. 7, 2021

CNN Reliable Sources, Maxwell trial stirs ludicrous anti-media conspiracy theories, Dec. 5, 2021

Justice Department, United States v. Ghislaine Maxwell, last updated Nov. 29, 2021

PolitiFact, Contrast in Rittenhouse, Maxwell trial coverage due to state and fed court rules, not hidden agenda, Nov. 22, 2021

PolitiFact, No gag order in Ghislaine Maxwell trial and courtroom is open to press, public, Nov. 22, 2021

 

Browse the Truth-O-Meter

More by Ciara O'Rourke

Many reporters are covering the Ghislaine Maxwell trial, despite claims otherwise

Support independent fact-checking.
Become a member!

In a world of wild talk and fake news, help us stand up for the facts.

Sign me up