Updated

Updated · The New York Times · Sep 4

Fake 2026 GOP Convention Site Redirects Users to Epstein Files as Dallas Event Nears

Updated

Updated · The New York Times · Sep 4

Fake 2026 GOP Convention Site Redirects Users to Epstein Files as Dallas Event Nears

Q: As ticket lottery winners are notified today, how many unknowingly surrendered their clicks to a sophisticated internet prank?

There is no public evidence showing how many ticket lottery applicants or winners clicked the spoofed site, and no credible outlet has reported a number. What is known is narrower: lottery winners were due to be notified Sept. 4, the same day attention intensified around the fake domain, gopdallas2026.com. Reporting says the site briefly ranked highly in search results and looked like a legitimate convention page, so some users searching for the Dallas event likely landed there. But neither the RNC, search platforms, nor federal authorities have released traffic data, referral counts, or complaint totals that would show how many people were affected. The available reporting also indicates the prank appears to have been a redirect stunt, not a phishing or data-harvesting operation. Users were sent to the Justice Department’s Epstein files page rather than to a payment form or credential-stealing portal. That reduces the known risk of personal data loss, though it still means visitors may have been misled and diverted away from the official registration process. The safest answer, based on the record today, is that the number remains unknown. Anyone notified about tickets should verify any link leads to the official convention site, gopconvention.com, rather than the spoof domain.

1 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Sep 4

A spoof website tied to the Sept. 9-10 Republican midterm convention in Dallas sent visitors to the Justice Department’s Jeffrey Epstein files instead of event information.
Google search results surfaced the impostor gopdallas2026.com above the real convention site, whose preview promised registration details and VIP experiences before redirecting users.
The actual RNC convention page at gopconvention.com was not hacked and remained online, advertising the party’s first-of-its-kind midterm convention.
The redirect adds to an election-year problem for Republicans and Donald Trump, whose past ties to Epstein have already angered parts of the MAGA base.

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The New York Times3h ago

Fake GOP Convention Website Redirects to Jeffrey Epstein Files

How did a fake website manage to outrank a highly anticipated national event in search engine results?

With massive physical security in Dallas, could digital vulnerabilities be the actual biggest threat to this gathering?

As ticket lottery winners are notified today, how many unknowingly surrendered their clicks to a sophisticated internet prank?

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1 total

Left100%

The New York Times3h ago

Fake GOP Convention Website Redirects to Jeffrey Epstein Files

Fake 2026 GOP Convention Site Redirects Users to Epstein Files as Dallas Event Nears

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