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  • Snopes Digest #120: Epstein's former chef on 'jerky' claims, fundraiser vetting tips — and more

Snopes Digest #120: Epstein's former chef on 'jerky' claims, fundraiser vetting tips — and more

Here's what's happening inside the Snopes newsroom.

Author

Izz LaMagdeleine
March 01, 2026

March 1, 2026・Issue #120

1. Behind the Snopes: Epstein’s former chef talks 'jerky’ rumors

Let's talk about what's going on with Snopes: the newsroom, the products, the people, and everything and anything that makes Snopes, Snopes. This month, Senior Reporter Jordan Liles discussed corresponding with a chef who got caught up in false claims surrounding the word "jerky" in the Epstein files.

On Jan. 31, the U.S. Justice Department released a massive trove of Jeffrey Epstein’s case files. While many users searched for credible evidence involving co-conspirators and victims, others focused on churning out false posts and videos claiming — without evidence — that mentions of various foods were secret code words for the late convicted sex offender’s crimes.

Users falsely claimed the files proved the “pizzagate” conspiracy theory, pointed fingers at an email mentioning babies and cream cheese, and questioned whether hundreds of emails mentioning jerky secretly referenced cannibalism. Users also asked about a chef named Francis Derby, who once appeared in emails mentioning jerky and later worked at a restaurant with the word “cannibal” in its name.

Regarding jerky, our reporting documented substantial evidence showing emails about Epstein eating jerky reference the food rather than any nefarious activity.

As part of our investigation, we contacted Derby, who worked as Epstein’s chef for six months in 2012. Somewhat to our surprise, he responded from the same email address displayed in the files.

In our exchange, Derby confirmed an email’s reference to jerky simply meant “beef jerky made from dry-aged New York strip steak.” He added, “I developed and prepared food items, including jerky, as part of my work as a chef. There was no coded meaning attached to the word. Any suggestion otherwise is incorrect.”

He also truly worked as executive chef for The Cannibal Beer & Butcher restaurant in New York, which no longer exists. But social media posts about the restaurant’s name omitted key context: It paid homage to Belgian cyclist Eddy Merckx, who is nicknamed “The Cannibal.”

Derby followed up with us after the article was published, saying, “My goal in responding was simply to make sure the information shared publicly reflects the truth and not unfounded conspiracy theories.”  

“I’ve read the article and really appreciate the care you took in reviewing the facts and clarifying the record. It means a lot to see the situation addressed thoughtfully and accurately,” he added.

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2. Snopes-tionary:

Vetting fundraisers to protect your donations

From Reporter Rae Deng:

Amid the rise of AI slop and deepfakes, fraudsters have more tools than ever to trick a good samaritan into handing over money for an apparent good cause.

Today, crowdfunding scams are everywhere, making it confusing for people who want to help without falling for fraud. Snopes has covered scams for years, but it’s impossible for us to verify every single fundraiser — so we put together a list of tips to help our readers do it themselves.

Some of those tips include doing a reverse-image search to check for impersonation, using charity rating tools like GuideStar and checking if the fundraiser properly explains why someone needs the money and where the funds are going. For more, check out the full guide.

3. Overheard at Snopes

We look into a lot of weird stuff at Snopes. We imagine it's very interesting to be a fly on the wall, so we wanted to give you a look at some of the things we have to say when fact-checking.

Overheard: “sometimes unprecedented times are very, very fun”

— Reporter Anna Rascouët-Paz

4. Since we last met:

Members-only tip dashboard

From Executive Editor Jessica Lee:

Snopes readers help decide what we fact-check. The newsroom investigates topics based on your inquiries.

Editors sift through hundreds of messages and search inquiries daily to figure out how to dedicate our limited fact-checking resources. Now, Snopes members have a new tool to help us direct our researching skills: a tip dashboard.

Use the dashboard to see what questions other fact-finding readers like you want answered, and submit new or rank existing topics. It's a tool to get you more involved in our fact-checking, available only with a Snopes membership. 

Mental Health Break

Snopes investigates some grim and depressing claims, so we know how important it is to your mental health to see something silly, funny, or just plain heartwarming. Here are some links that made us smile.

5. Snopes-worthy Media

What Snopes is paying attention to across the web.

After killing of top drug lord, cartels use fake news to spread fear in Mexico
— Laura Gottesdiener & Stefanie Eschenbacher, Reuters

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