How a Hunter Biden conspiracy theory grew, from lone tweet to a big megaphone
< < Go Back
It started with a tweet on Jan. 12 by an anonymous account — a photo of a rental application by Hunter Biden, plucked from the hard drive of his laptop left behind for repair in a Delaware shop in April 2019.
Then it quickly exploded across the internet, into articles posted on right-wing media, onto Tucker Carlson’s Fox News evening show and into the talking points of Republican lawmakers who pledged an investigation into why Hunter Biden was paying his father $49,910 a month in rent at the Biden residence where classified documents have been found.
But the rental application was misconstrued — an example of how speculation about material from the laptop often lacks context or careful scrutiny. The reality is that Hunter Biden was paying $49,910 every three months for office space in D.C.
Some who pushed the embroidered narrative quietly distanced themselves. Others adjusted their claims. But investigations were still promised.
Let’s follow the misinformation trail.
More From The Washington Post (subscription required):