Twitter and Facebook restrict sharing of New York Post Hunter Biden laptop story; Twitter later admits 'mistake'
On October 14, 2020, Twitter blocked the URL of a New York Post article reporting on emails purportedly obtained from a laptop linked to Hunter Biden, citing its 'hacked materials' policy, and locked the Post's official account when it refused to delete its tweets. Facebook simultaneously throttled the story's distribution pending fact-checker review. Twitter reversed the URL block within 48 hours, and CEO Jack Dorsey later called the action a 'total mistake.' The Twitter Files released in December 2022 produced internal communications about the decision.
Dates: NY Post article published October 14, 2020; Twitter URL block October 14, 2020; reversal October 16, 2020; NY Post account fully restored October 30, 2020; Dorsey congressional testimony November 2020 and March 2021; Twitter Files December 2022. Parties: The New York Post; Twitter; Facebook (Meta); White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany (account locked); Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey; later, Elon Musk and Matt Taibbi (Twitter Files). What happened: Twitter applied its 'hacked materials' policy without notifying news editors and prevented users from sharing the URL. The Post's account was locked for about two weeks because it refused to delete tweets linking to its own article. Facebook reduced distribution pending fact-check review. Platforms' stated reasons: Hacked-materials policy (Twitter); pre-fact-check distribution reduction for potential misinformation (Facebook). Post's response: Editorial board called the action 'a direct attack on free speech' and refused to delete the tweets. Outcome: Twitter reversed within 48 hours; Dorsey publicly called the action 'wrong' and a 'total mistake.' The emails were later authenticated in mainstream reporting and in the federal Hunter Biden tax case.