Facebook, Twitter take action against New York Post story about Hunter Biden

Both Twitter and Facebook are taking steps to limit the spread of an article from the New York Post containing unconfirmed allegations pertaining to former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden.
Twitter users who attempted to tweet a new Post story regarding an alleged email exchange between Biden's son and a Ukrainian energy executive on Wednesday were presented with a message saying it could not be sent because the link is "potentially harmful." Twitter is blocking both links and images of the Post story, BuzzFeed News reports. Previously, Facebook said it would reduce the distribution of the same story before it could be reviewed by fact-checkers.
The Post's story described an alleged correspondence between Biden's son Hunter and a Ukrainian energy executive supposedly thanking him for "an opportunity to meet your father." The outlet claimed the data was recovered from a laptop dropped off at a repair shop and said a copy of the hard drive was shared by President Trump's personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"Given the lack of authoritative reporting on the origins of the materials included in the article, we're taking action to limit the spread of this information," Twitter said, per journalist Yashar Ali. Twitter also pointed to its hacked material policy, which states that "we don't permit the use of our services to directly distribute content obtained through hacking that contains private information, may put people in physical harm or danger, or contains trade secrets."
The Biden campaign had said that the Post "never asked" it about "critical elements" of the story, adding that it has reviewed Biden's official schedules "and no meeting, as alleged by the New York Post, ever took place."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
Scottish hospitality shines at these 7 hotels
The Week Recommends Sleep well at these lovely inns across Scotland
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US Published
-
Scientists invent a solid carbon-negative building material
Under the radar Building CO2 into the buildings
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Crossword: April 1, 2025
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published
-
Test flight of orbital rocket from Europe explodes
Speed Read Isar Aerospace conducted the first test flight of the Spectrum orbital rocket, which crashed after takeoff
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Apple pledges $500B in US spending over 4 years
Speed Read This is a win for Trump, who has pushed to move manufacturing back to the US
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Microsoft unveils quantum computing breakthrough
Speed Read Researchers say this advance could lead to faster and more powerful computers
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
TikTok's fate uncertain as weekend deadline looms
Speed Read The popular app is set to be banned in the U.S. starting Sunday
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Appeals court kills FCC net neutrality rule
Speed Read A U.S. appeals court blocked Biden's effort to restore net-neutrality rules
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Judge rejects Elon Musk's $56B pay package again
Speed Read Judge Kathaleen McCormick upheld her rejection of the Tesla CEO's unprecedented compensation deal
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
DOJ seeks breakup of Google, Chrome
Speed Read The Justice Department aims to force Google to sell off Chrome and make other changes to rectify its illegal search monopoly
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Racist texts tell Black people in US to prepare for slavery
Speed Read Recipients in at least a dozen states have been told to prepare to 'pick cotton' on slave plantations
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published