On Nov. 19, 2025, President Donald Trump signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act into law. In compliance with the act, nearly 3 million pages were released with more than 2,000 videos and 180,000 images. Combined with prior releases, there were 3.5 million released pages in total.
This led to public frustration and outrage, with many Americans being outspoken and directly engaging with information in the files. Citizens among all political parties expressed intense anger and unrest.
The discussion lost most of its momentum quickly due to the 24-hour news cycle. Constant exposure of overwhelming headlines makes it difficult to commit to one issue.
In a poll conducted by Reuters, 69% of Americans said the Epstein Files are representative of how powerful people in the U.S. are rarely held accountable for their corrupt actions.
Citizens demonstrated their disapproval clearly when on March 28, millions of people participated in the “No Kings” protests. The purpose of that event was to express their grievances at the second Trump administration, particularly the Epstein Files.
Almost a year after the release of the Epstein Files, online discussion about the Files have significantly decreased and there has been no real accountability for complicit government officials.
The stories and public comments surrounding the Files were quickly drowned out by other major events, such as the escalating Iran war and developing national immigration policies and protests.
The lack of interest surrounding the Files could be described as a symptom of the 24/7 news cycle, “outrage fatigue.”
Described by Scientific American, outrage fatigue occurs when one repeatedly experiences “perceived moral transgressions and feels fatigued by them.” What would once have been an unforgettable scandal now trends as a headline for a few months.
The 24/7 news cycle forces people to move on before they can process the information they just received.
The constant cycle of news can even take a toll on mental and emotional health. The constant information available can increase feelings of stress, anxiety and burnout.
Matt Swies, a mental health clinician at the OhioHealth Well-Being Center, said, “Now our news media turns at such a rapid pace. All channels are flooded. There’s just this constant stream of stories, and many of them are quite depressing.”
Swies also said signs of news-related anxiety through the constant exposure to overwhelming headlines could make one feel hopeless, obsessively check headlines or even disengage with news.
According to a survey conducted by Pew Research Center, 36% of U.S. adults say they follow news all or most of the time. That is down from 51% in 2016, the first time Pew asked that question.
The constant exposure of headlines detailing corruption, such as the Epstein Files, never lead to political accountability. Instead, they breed deep political cynicism. That causes a lack of motivation to engage themselves with current events, as they have learned to believe nothing will change anyway.
The effect of the constant stream of information is clear: It leads to complete disengagement. A dangerous paradox is created. The mechanism intended to keep the public informed results in the audience becoming disinterested, lacking the emotional stamina to stay angry.
Joselyn Duff is a freshman studying journalism at Ohio University. Please note the opinions expressed in this column do not represent those of The Post. Want to talk to Joselyn Duff about their column? Email them at jd637225@ohio.edu or reach them at @joselynduff48.
