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Comment by zaroth | Hacker News Reader

This is a good summary of some of the recent revelations into how far the USG has been pushing into strong-arming online and traditional media outlets alike into suppressing critical speech.

I think it’s interesting how the author tip-toed into tying in the Hunter Biden laptop scandal, where the FBI lied to Facebook to get it suppressed.

It’s a hot potato, but it’s exactly where these efforts lead, from ostensibly “well-meaning and necessary” public health efforts into brazen political coverups.

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> the Hunter Biden laptop scandal, where the FBI lied to Facebook to get it suppressed

According to this, the FBI didn’t even mention the laptop story when they talked to Facebook:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-62688532.amp

The Hunter Biden laptop story is as meta as it gets. The whole point of the story is that it's a story, and that bad people aren't letting the story be told.

Every freaking complaint about the story is about the story itself. It is Buttery Males v2. Same thing -- they didn't care about the emails, they cared about the story.

Yes it turns out people care about being lied to.

No they don't. They only care when people they don't like lie to them (at least when we're talking about an audience that ostensibly includes you).

Selective outrage can only be sincere via ignorance. Tribal/partisan politics such as this is an betrayal of allegiance to one's country.

Parallels to President Clinton; it didn’t really matter what he actually did, but it turned out to matter very much that he lied about what he did.

OK, if Democrats collectively admit the Biden administration covered up the laptop whatever scandal from 2019 to 2020 can we stop hearing about it?

If not, is there an individual opt out browser setting or something?

These people are zombies! "hunter's laptop..... hunter's laptop....."

They're literally beyond reason - it's so sad and frustrating.

Bill Clinton was a sexual predator -- there's a reason why he is not the public statesman he could have been.

But for some reason his sexual proclivities were fair game when his predecessor's were not (it was an open secret he had a mistress for decades).

But it apparently didn't matter that the other president liked about paying of the porn star he screwed while his wife was in the hospital giving birth to his son.

You know, the case where he broke the law but his attorney went to jail for being the bag man?

It's crazy-making how selective the "morality" of the right is.

> "The background here is that the FBI came to us - some folks on our team - and was like 'hey, just so you know, you should be on high alert. We thought there was a lot of Russian propaganda in the 2016 election, we have it on notice that basically there's about to be some kind of dump that's similar to that'."

"There's about to be some kind of dump that's similar to that" gives a pretty clear hint. The mob boss never says to his hitman "I think Fat Tony is a snitch, please kill him for me" but he still ordered the hit.

Seriously? Now the FBI is engaging in mob tactics?

Is this the branch that operates out of the basement at Comet Ping Pong Pizzeria?

You wanna know this one weird trick about this story? It only matters that it exists and can be further weaponized by crying foul over its suppression.

You don't care about what the story is about, just the story itself (and the story about the story).

> Now the FBI is engaging in mob tactics?

Not now. For a long time. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FBI%E2%80%93King_suicide_lette...

But they weren't when they investigated Clinton? There's plenty of sordid history there but your claims are still ludicrous.

I dare you to discuss the Hunter Biden case in the context of what it ostensibly represents: government corruption.

Your circular logic goes nowhere: the Biden laptop story is about the Biden laptop story not being told.

Again: tell me why this story should be told? What is the real substance of your concern?

What does Clinton have to do with this? And you just don't seem to get it. The garden variety corruption of Hunter Biden isn't the important story. The FBI trying to suppress the spread of news is.

"10% to the big guy"

If the vice president was really taking money in exchange for influence peddling to foreign oligarchs, then that is a truly staggering level of corruption.

Yes indeed. Let's investigate shall we? Wait, we did? Oh here is the report: https://www.finance.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/HSGAC%20-%20Fin...

And that report shows that Hunter Biden was a corrupt piece of shit -- nothing compelling to show that his father was for sale as suggested.

But for some reason you only care when it's about your political enemies, so I find your concern insincere at best. Shame on you for putting party before country.

If. And if it's not, what is it?

And do you feel the same way about corruption when it comes to his predecessor? I'm guessing you're good with that. Because it's your team and that's ok.

The FBI investigation into Hillary Clinton's email server?

Does that ring a bell? You know, the thing they made a big deal about before the election because back then Republicans supposedly cared about national security? That impacted the election.

>The garden variety corruption of Hunter Biden isn't the important story.

Oh, do tell. Then why was it so important to tell the story? Why the fuss other than to have a fuss?

Yes, the FBI was doing their job and investigating the Clinton server. The media was doing its job and reporting on it. People were posting about it openly on social media without any FBI interference. Nobody was lying and calling it Russian disinformation. It's not the FBI's job to worry about whether or not its investigations impact the election. In fact, it's specifically the FBI's job not to worry about this.

What does this have to do with the FBI trying to suppress the Hunter Biden story on social media?

Because the laptop is likely a Russian campaign. The content appears to be genuine but the provenance is questionable (very convenient that the recipient was blind, no?).

Because the story itself is toxic -- it exists only to insinuate that Biden Sr. is corrupt. The GOP itself investigated and could find no such thing.

This is Buttery Males v2 and if you can't see it then that's by your choice.

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