Mock Republican convention website redirects users to Epstein Files

What the report says

A mock website tied to the Republican Party’s upcoming midterm convention in Dallas briefly appeared near the top of Google search results on Friday, according to Al Jazeera. The site, gopdallas2026.com, used search preview text suggesting it offered information about the 2026 Republican convention, but visitors were redirected to the US Department of Justice page for the Epstein Files.

The Republican Party quickly rejected the prank site on social media and directed users to its official convention page. Democratic lawmakers, meanwhile, used the episode to renew criticism of the Trump administration’s handling of the Epstein Files. Al Jazeera noted that the files have remained a persistent political issue for President Donald Trump, who is scheduled to speak at the convention.

Al Jazeera reported that archived versions of the mock site showed imagery of Dallas’s American Airlines Center and a prompt for users to submit contact details for updates. Small-print text on the page said it was an independent informational resource and was not affiliated with the Republican National Committee or the convention.

The Republican event, described as the party’s first-ever midterm convention, is set for September 9-10 and is expected to be the party’s largest convention since 2016. More broadly, the reporting places the prank in the context of continuing partisan fighting over the Epstein disclosures and the upcoming midterm campaign season.