3.1 Conclusion

Overall, the Jeffrey Epstein case is a perfect example of how one can rise to power by maximising theirwealth and status, and abuse it to conduct immoral activities that can easily be swept under the rugthrough media manipulation. Referring back to the survey, 79.2% to 94.8% of the participants agreethat a powerful figure’s wealth, status and power can enable their control over media outlets to covertheir malicious acts and the general public using financial dependency as the primary factor forexploitation

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This is a direct reflection of “Platos’s Ring of Gyges”, a western philosophy, where the shepherd “Gyges” possessed a magical ring to take over the kingdom of a powerful king by using the ring’s power to turn invisible and similarly Jeffrey Epstein committed sexual abuse on women and children and used his status to turn invisible to the news and in front of the general population.

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Most survey responses also support the fact that the media and legal systems are working together to protect these public figures from facing consequences, but exposure through public media can undo that. “The Banality of Evil”, another western philosophy, explains how those who commit evil or obey to evil never question their own motives and the same applies to how Epstein’s connections turned a blind eye to his pursuits despite it being unethical. According to Confucianism, an eastern philosophy, moral standards such as virtue shape a stable society. If a ruler chooses to ignore virtue, their followers will support them in this path which would lead to the fall of a stable society. Virtue thus acts as a barrier against immoral endeavours. In this situation, the legal systems as our leaders failed to show virtue and prevent Jeffrey’s actions and instead helped to cover his crimes along with his connections.

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​44.2% of survey responses are somewhat familiar with the case and another 29.9% are very familiar, commonly had social media bring their attention to this case. Since the majority of the responses are from the younger generation, this indicates that social media platforms are the most significant form of public media to shed light onto topics that general news outlets like to distort. Therefore, the more the population educates themselves on the subject the more awareness can be brought to the victims’ traumas.

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From a personal point of view, the most effort being shown to bring justice to Jeffrey Epstein’s victims is from the younger generation. Netizens continue to share important details and the brutal stories from the child trafficking ring on social media networks, encouraging their followers to share them and raise awareness. The current American legal system did not learn from the past mistakes of previous governments and remained silent to the atrocities caused, failing to show a promising image to protect its women and children. Those aside from the government, including other public figures and American citizens, contribute to the problem by not speaking up. Each effort, whether small or big, to spread awareness and point out the faults of the American government is a step closer to bringing closure to the Epstein case.