After Hunter Biden's guilty verdict, a look back at viral falsehoods
Hunter Biden has long been a subject of misinformation online, with social media users speculating about his drug abuse, financial dealings and federal indictments. From miscaptioned videos to false claims about his convictions, viral claims have repeatedly misrepresented the president's son and his relationship with the law.
Biden was convicted of three federal gun charges on June 11, making him the first child of a sitting president to be convicted of a federal crime. He faces sentencing and another federal trial in September.
Here's a roundup of fact-checks about Biden from the USA TODAY Fact-Check Team:
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Claim: Video shows Hunter Biden on the day cocaine was discovered in the White House
Our rating: False
The video was captured July 4, two days after Secret Service agents found cocaine at the White House.
Read more: Hunter Biden video captured two days after cocaine found in White House
Claim: Hunter Biden’s prison term has been announced
Our rating: False
This was wrong in December 2023 when it was posted and remains wrong. Hunter Biden was charged with various crimes in two separate indictments, but he had not been convicted or sentenced for any of them at the time of this claim. If convicted on all charges, he could potentially face decades in prison.
Read more: Hunter Biden has been charged with federal crimes, not sentenced
Claim: Kodak Black and Hunter Biden faced the same charge, but only Black was sentenced to prison
Our rating: Partly false
Hunter Biden, the president's son, was charged with illegally possessing a firearm as a drug user, while Kodak Black was charged with falsifying documents to obtain a firearm. While they were charged under the same statute, the charge for each came under different subsections, one based on drug use and the other based on an intent to deceive.
Read more: Post wrongly compares firearm offenses of Hunter Biden and Kodak Black
Claim: Hunter Biden paid Joe Biden $50,000 a month in rent for home with classified documents
Our rating: False
The claim stems from a misinterpretation of a form Hunter Biden signed in 2018. The form actually shows quarterly payments he made for office space in the House of Sweden, a building in Washington, D.C., according to a spokesperson for Sweden's National Property Board. The payment was not rent paid to Joe Biden for the use of his Delaware home.
Read more: False claim that Hunter Biden paid Joe Biden $50,000 in rent for Delaware home
Claim: Video shows Ron DeSantis confronting Hunter Biden over deleted laptop files
Our rating: False
The video shows DeSantis speaking at a Heritage Foundation event. He does not mention or confront Biden.
Read more: Video shows Ron DeSantis at education forum, not confronting Hunter Biden
Claim: Video shows Sen. Ron Johnson talking about 'jailtime' for Hunter Biden
Our rating: False
The video is miscaptioned. It shows Johnson speaking on the Senate floor in April 2022, not January 2023. Johnson does not show any laptop in the clip nor does he mention "jailtime" for Hunter Biden.
Read more: False claim video shows Sen. Johnson announcing Hunter Biden 'jailtime'
Claim: Video shows Sen. John Kennedy expose Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez activities with Hunter Biden
Our rating: False
Neither individual shown in the video mentions Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez or says "I got this from Hunter's PC."
Read more: Video shows Kennedy questioning FBI director, not exposing Ocasio-Cortez 'shady activities'
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hunter Biden's cases have been a hotbed of misinfo. Here's what's true
