FACT CHECK: Did The Atlantic Publish This Article About Hunter Biden?
An image shared on Twitter purportedly shows a screen grab of an article from The Atlantic titled “Leave Hunter Alone.”
— e-beth (@ebeth360) July 10, 2022
Verdict: False
The photo is digitally fabricated. There is no record of The Atlantic publishing such an article.
Fact Check:
The U.S. Secret Service acknowledged this week that it is aware of a potential breach of an iCloud account associated with Hunter Biden, President Joe Biden’s 52-year-old son, according to NBC News. Among the information that was leaked from the account were alleged text messages Hunter Biden sent in 2018 in which he disparaged first lady Jill Biden, his step-mother, the New York Post reported.
An image shared on Twitter appears to show a screenshot of an article from The Atlantic about the scandal titled, “Leave Hunter Alone.” The alleged article is formatted in The Atlantic’s distinct style but shows no byline or timestamp. “Why the partisan focus on Hunter Biden’s laptop has democracy experts saying ‘leave Hunter alone and worry about democracy,'” reads the alleged article’s subhead.
The screenshot is digitally fabricated. The story does not appear on The Atlantic’s website or on the outlet’s verified Twitter, Instagram or Facebook accounts. There are likewise no credible news reports suggesting The Atlantic, or any other news outlet, published such a headline. The outlet did however publish an article in April titled, “Why Hunter Biden’s Laptop Will Never Go Away.”
This is not the first time an altered screenshot of an article from The Atlantic has gone viral. Check Your Fact recently debunked an image allegedly showing an article from the outlet claiming it’s not racist to call Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas a racial slur. (RELATED: Did The Atlantic Publish This Article About Joe Biden’s Bike Fall?)
UPDATE: The article has been updated with a quote from a spokesperson associated with The Atlantic.
