Twitter and Facebook Restrict New York Post Story on Hunter Biden
Event Reviewed Automatically reviewed for factual accuracy, tone, and neutrality. Review does not check claims against cited sources. Last reviewed 20 October 2026.Twitter blocked links to a New York Post article about emails attributed to Hunter Biden, citing its hacked materials policy, and locked the Post's account; Facebook said it was reducing the article's distribution pending third-party fact-checking.
Platforms limit a news article’s spread weeks before the 2020 election; Twitter revises policy.
The New York Post article, published on 14 October 2020, reported on emails and photos it said came from a laptop left at a Delaware repair shop, which the Post obtained through Rudy Giuliani. The same day, Twitter prevented users from sharing links to the article in tweets and direct messages, citing its hacked materials policy, and locked the Post’s main account. Twitter Safety later added that images in the article contained personal and private information, such as email addresses and phone numbers. Facebook communications official Andy Stone said the story was eligible for review by the company’s third-party fact-checking partners and that “in the meantime, we are reducing its distribution on our platform.”
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey said that blocking links in direct messages without explaining why was “unacceptable.” By 16 October, Twitter revised its hacked materials policy so that such content would be labeled rather than removed, unless shared directly by hackers or those acting in concert with them, and began allowing users to share the article, saying its contents had circulated widely enough that they could no longer be considered private.
The decision was raised at a 28 October Senate Commerce Committee hearing on Section 230 with Dorsey, Mark Zuckerberg and Sundar Pichai, where Sen. Ted Cruz asked Dorsey, “who the hell elected you and put you in charge of what the media are allowed to report and what the American people are allowed to hear.”
Sources
- 01.
Slate. Facebook and Twitter Take Steps to Limit Spread of Controversial New York Post Article. (2020). Published 14 October 2020. Supports Facebook spokesperson Andy Stone's statement that the story was eligible for fact-checking and that Facebook was reducing its distribution; Twitter blocking links under its hacked materials policy; the lock on the @nypost account; and Twitter Safety's later statement citing personal and private information in the images.
- 02.
ABC News (Australia). Why Twitter blocked a New York Post story about Hunter Biden. (2020). Supports the date: Twitter began blocking links to the article in tweets and direct messages on Wednesday afternoon, 14 October 2020 (US time). Also supports the article's contents (emails and photos said to come from a laptop left at a Delaware repair shop, obtained by the Post through Rudy Giuliani) and Facebook's reduced distribution.
- 03.
Ha, A. (2020). Twitter is now allowing users to share that controversial New York Post story. TechCrunch. Published 16 October 2020. Supports Dorsey's statement that blocking links in direct messages without explanation was unacceptable; Twitter's revision of its hacked materials policy to label rather than remove such content, except when shared by hackers or those acting in concert with them; and the decision to allow sharing of the article because the information had circulated widely.
- 04.
Jacobson, D., Lotus, J., & Uria, D. (2020). Section 230 hearing: Tech CEOs defend law shielding user content. UPI. Published 28 October 2020. Supports the Senate Commerce Committee hearing on Section 230 with Dorsey, Zuckerberg and Pichai, and Sen. Ted Cruz's questioning of Dorsey over the restriction of the New York Post story.
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