NY Post: Hunter Biden478s laptop saga is one of media’s biggest self-inflicted losses of credibility

The Hunter Biden laptop story is messier than a pastrami sandwich at Russ & Daughters, but it’s one of the most instructive — and critical — media screw-ups in our nation’s history.<br><br>The key takeaway: that Big Tech can steal an election in plain sight. And that both social media monopolies and the mainstream media would rather commit reputational hara-kiri than allow an uncomfortable truth to go viral.<br><br>It’s been three years since the New York Post published a blistering exposé on Biden478’s laptop, which he had abandoned in a Delaware repair shop. The reporting detailed how Hunter repeatedly used his father’s position as vice president for personal enrichment and how he introduced Joe to his dodgy foreign associates — including some very shady Ukrainians. (Hunter served on the board of Burisma Holdings, a Ukrainian energy company that paid him a whopping $50,000 a month.)<br><br>But just as the Post was about to drop a potential bombshell in the run-up to the 2020 presidential election, both Facebook and Twitter took the unprecedented step of censoring the story — effectively killing it.<br><br>Twitter blocked users from sharing it, while Facebook limited the article’s reach, with a company spokesperson explaining that it was reducing its distribution pending fact-checking. It didn’t matter that the story had been authenticated by several other outlets.<br><br>The outcome was clear: that Big Tech stole the election. Although there’s no way to quantify the impact of the laptop story, polls show it would likely have sunk Biden’s campaign. A 2020 Rasmussen/Miranda poll found that 4% of Biden voters — enough to tip the election — would have changed their minds had they been aware of the laptop’s contents. Meanwhile, a post-election survey conducted by the Media Research Center found that 1 in 6 Biden voters (17%) said they would not have voted for him had they been aware of information his campaign kept hidden or the media ignored.<br><br>Hunter Biden478's laptop saga is one of media’s biggest self-inflicted losses of credibility (opinion) | CNN Politics<br><br>[ Removed by Reddit on account of violating the [content policy](/help/contentpolicy). ]