An unusual incident occurred when journalists calling the White House switchboard saw the caller ID on their mobile screens display “Epstein Island” instead of the official number. The event took place on Wednesday, according to Washington Post reporters who encountered the issue.
The call was made in the context of a First Lady Melania Trump event, where she hosted a conference titled “Fostering the Future Together” with the wives of world leaders. During the event, Melania Trump walked alongside a humanoid robot named “Figure 03,” which greeted attendees in 11 languages. The Washington Post’s Style section had called the White House to inquire about the brand of Melania’s outfit.
Investigations revealed that only those using Google Pixel Android phones saw the name “Epstein Island” on their screens. Calls made from iPhones showed only the number without any name.
Google spokesperson Matthew Flaggall explained:
“This happened due to a fake edit or error in Google Maps. The Google Caller ID feature temporarily picked up this incorrect information.”
“Google has corrected the error and banned the user who provided this false information.”
Pixel phone users now see no name when calling the White House.
A White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, clarified:
“This caller ID issue was entirely external and has no connection to White House internal systems.”
The incident comes amid ongoing scrutiny of former President Donald Trump’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein, who faced charges of sex trafficking and abuse. Epstein’s estate on the Caribbean’s Little Saint James Island was widely known as “Epstein Island.”
Google Maps has faced criticism for years over the manipulation of business names and numbers, including incidents where prank or misleading edits changed names of establishments or replaced official helpline numbers for fraud or memes.
