In early 2021, the Maxwell family launched a website called RealGhislaine.com, which they described as a factual information hub designed to counter what they called “media distortions” about their sister. The family positioned the site as a defense against “character assassination,” featuring photos, statements, and claims that Ghislaine Maxwell was being unfairly treated in U.S. custody. The website portrayed her as a wrongfully targeted woman enduring “cruel and unusual” prison conditions, denied fair bail, and vilified because of her association with Jeffrey Epstein. The site also included a section where her siblings—most vocally Ian and Kevin Maxwell—asserted that she was being used as a scapegoat for the failures of U.S. authorities to properly monitor Epstein before his death. It was a deliberate PR strategy meant to shift attention away from the charges of sex trafficking and conspiracy that had already led to her conviction, reframing her image from enabler to victim.

The family’s broader campaign extended far beyond the website. They conducted coordinated interviews, published op-eds, and gave statements to outlets like the BBC, The Independent, and The Telegraph, all echoing similar talking points: that Ghislaine’s trial was “tainted by media bias,” that she was “denied due process,” and that she was “paying the price for Epstein’s crimes.” Critics, including lawyers for Epstein’s victims, slammed the PR campaign as tone-deaf and manipulative, accusing the family of whitewashing her crimes and retraumatizing survivors by trying to rewrite the narrative. Victim advocates said the site and interviews were an attempt to maintain Maxwell’s social reputation and influence elite opinion, especially in Britain, where the family retained connections in media and politics. Even after her conviction, the family kept the site active and continued issuing statements insisting that her appeal would “expose systemic injustice” rather than re-examine her crimes.


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