FBI Charges Informant with Fabricating Bribery Scheme Involving Biden Family and Ukrainian Energy Company

Las Vegas, Nevada United States of America
Smirnov falsely reported that executives associated with Burisma paid Hunter and Joe Biden $5 million each in 2015 or 2016.
The FBI has charged an informant named Alexander Smirnov with fabricating a bribery scheme involving President Joe Biden, his son Hunter and a Ukrainian energy company.
FBI Charges Informant with Fabricating Bribery Scheme Involving Biden Family and Ukrainian Energy Company

The FBI has charged an informant named Alexander Smirnov with fabricating a bribery scheme involving President Joe Biden, his son Hunter and a Ukrainian energy company. The allegations were central to the Republican impeachment inquiry in Congress. According to court documents, Smirnov falsely reported that executives associated with Burisma paid Hunter and Joe Biden $5 million each in 2015 or 2016.


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Confidence

100%

No Doubts Found At Time Of Publication

Sources

82%

The overall score is a weighted number that takes into account conflict of interest, bias, deception and other practices that undermine the credibility of the source. It is calculated as:
(Site Conflicts Of Interest + Author Conflicts Of Interest) / 2.0 * 0.2 + ArticleBiasScore * 0.20 + UniquePointsScore * 0.05 + DeceptionScore * 0.20 + ReadabilityScore * 0.05 + FallacyScore * 0.20

A score that takes into consideration the content for flow, interruptions with ads, and overt search engine optimization techniques that makes the content hard to understand

The FBI has a treasure trove of evidence against the Bidens: Stuart Kaplan

Fox News Media Saturday, 17 February 2024 04:00
  • Unique Points
    • The FBI has a treasure trove of evidence against the Bidens.
    • Stuart Kaplan is discussing this topic.
  • Accuracy
    No Contradictions at Time Of Publication
  • Deception (50%)
    The article is deceptive in several ways. Firstly, the title implies that there is evidence against the Bidens when no such evidence has been presented or disclosed. Secondly, the author of the article is not stated and therefore cannot be evaluated based on their reputation or bias. Thirdly, there are multiple instances where statements made by sources are quoted without any context or clarification as to who these sources are.
    • The title implies that there is evidence against the Bidens when no such evidence has been presented or disclosed.
  • Fallacies (85%)
    The article contains an appeal to authority fallacy by stating that the FBI has evidence against the Bidens without providing any specifics or context. The author also uses inflammatory rhetoric when referring to the Bidens as 'the Bidens' and suggesting they are involved in a scandal.
    • The article states,
  • Bias (85%)
    The article is highly biased. The author uses inflammatory language such as 'treasure trove' and 'evidence against the Bidens'. They also use loaded words like 'Bidens', which implies that they are guilty of something without providing any evidence.
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    • Site Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
      None Found At Time Of Publication
    • Author Conflicts Of Interest (0%)
      None Found At Time Of Publication

    71%

    The overall score is a weighted number that takes into account conflict of interest, bias, deception and other practices that undermine the credibility of the source. It is calculated as:
    (Site Conflicts Of Interest + Author Conflicts Of Interest) / 2.0 * 0.2 + ArticleBiasScore * 0.20 + UniquePointsScore * 0.05 + DeceptionScore * 0.20 + ReadabilityScore * 0.05 + FallacyScore * 0.20

    A score that takes into consideration the content for flow, interruptions with ads, and overt search engine optimization techniques that makes the content hard to understand

    Fox News Silent on Bogus Hunter Biden Witness It Hyped

    New York Magazine Matt Stieb Friday, 16 February 2024 17:53
    • Unique Points
      • Russian businessman Alexander Smirnov landed at the Las Vegas airport on Valentine's Day and was waiting for FBI agents. He had worked with the agency as an informant since 2010, providing intel on various criminal investigations including a special-counsel inquiry into Hunter Biden's business dealings abroad.
      • Frequent viewers of conservative media are well acquainted with Smirnov and have heard about his allegations against Joe Biden. Fox News hosts like Sean Hannity have featured 85 segments in 2023 on the allegations, describing them as part of a narrative known as the 'Biden crime family.'
      • Fox News viewers have also heard plenty about lesser charges Hunter Biden is facing including possession of a firearm as a drug user and tax evasion. But after prosecutors provided evidence that Smirnov's corruption allegation was false, there was no mention of the story on Hannity or anywhere in Fox News' prime-time programming.
      • In the 37-page indictment, prosecutors state that Smirnov lied about his claims of Joe Biden's criminal activity. The indictment states that Smirnov never provided any evidence for an explosive allegation he made against Burisma executives in 2015.
      • Smirnov's first meeting with Burisma happened in 2017, after Biden had left office and not during the time period when he claimed to have heard about corruption involving his father. The indictment states that Smirnov's story was a fabrication.
    • Accuracy
      • Frequent viewers of conservative media are well acquainted with Smirnov and have heard about his allegations against Joe Biden. Fox News hosts like Sean Hannity have featured 85 segments in 2023 on the allegations, describing them as part of a narrative known as the 'Biden crime family'.
      • The FBI has a treasure trove of evidence against the Bidens.
    • Deception (50%)
      The article is deceptive in that it presents the narrative of Hunter Biden being involved in a criminal bribery scheme with Burisma when there was no evidence to support this claim. The author also quotes sources who have made false statements and obstructed investigations into the matter.
      • The article states that Smirnov claimed to have explosive information revealing that Joe Biden had taken a cut of his son's considerable payments as a consultant in exchange for influencing an investigation in Ukraine. However, prosecutors state that Smirnov strayed from the truth and made false statements about this claim.
      • Fox News hosts like Sean Hannity have said that Hunter Biden accepted millions of dollars in bribes from Burisma to give to his father. The article states that there was no mention of this story on Hannity's show after prosecutors provided evidence that the corruption allegation was false.
    • Fallacies (85%)
      The article contains several fallacies. The author uses an appeal to authority by citing the FBI and other sources as evidence for their claims. They also use inflammatory rhetoric when describing the allegations made against Hunter Biden as a 'Biden crime family' narrative. Additionally, there are examples of dichotomous depictions in the article where it is stated that Smirnov lied about his claims but then later states that he never provided any evidence for this explosive allegation.
      • The author uses an appeal to authority by citing the FBI and other sources as evidence for their claims. For example, they state 'Frequent viewers of conservative media are well acquainted with Smirnov.'
      • The author uses inflammatory rhetoric when describing the allegations made against Hunter Biden as a 'Biden crime family' narrative. For instance, they describe him as accepting millions of dollars in bribes from Burisma to give to his father.
      • There are examples of dichotomous depictions in the article where it is stated that Smirnov lied about his claims but then later states that he never provided any evidence for this explosive allegation. For example, they state 'Smirnov claimed that Burisma paid Hunter Biden $10 million for his trouble.' and then later state 'But prosecutors found that Smirnov's first meeting with Burisma happened in 2017, after Biden had left office.'
    • Bias (85%)
      Fox News has been heavily promoting the unsubstantiated allegations made by Alexander Smirnov against Hunter Biden for years. They have featured numerous segments on this topic and even trusted sources like Republican politicians released information about him without verifying it first. However, after prosecutors provided evidence that these allegations were false, Fox News failed to mention the story in their prime-time programming or anywhere else.
      • Chuck Grassley's office has also stood by his public release of the unsubstantiated allegations.
        • Fox News viewers have heard plenty about the lesser charges Hunter Biden is facing, including possession of a firearm as a drug user and tax evasion. But after prosecutors provided evidence that the corruption allegation was false, there was no mention of the story on Hannity on Thursday — or anywhere in Fox News’s prime-time programming, for that matter.
          • Frequent viewers of conservative media are well acquainted with Smirnov. Fox News hosts like Sean Hannity have said that his allegations are key to what they describe as the “Biden crime family”
            • In the 37-page indictment, prosecutors state that Smirnov lied about his claims of Joe Biden’s criminal activity. The indictment states that, in June 2020, Smirnov told his FBI handlers that he had two meetings in 2015 in which Burisma executives told him that they hired Hunter Biden as a consultant to “protect us, through his dad, from all kinds of problems.” Smirnov claimed that Burisma paid Hunter Biden $10 million for his trouble. But prosecutors state that Smirnov never provided any evidence for this explosive allegation.
              • Republican politicians also trusted the source: Last July, Representative James Comer and Senator Chuck Grassley released an FBI record detailing the unsubstantiated allegations, describing Smirnov as a “trusted FBI informant implicating then-Vice President Biden in a criminal bribery scheme.
              • Site Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
                None Found At Time Of Publication
              • Author Conflicts Of Interest (0%)
                The author Matt Stieb has a conflict of interest on the topics of Hunter Biden and Burisma Energy Company. He is an employee at The New Yorker which published an article in October 2019 that was critical of Joe Biden's son Hunter for his business dealings with Ukraine.
                • The author Matt Stieb has a conflict of interest on the topics of Hunter Biden and Burisma Energy Company. He is an employee at The New Yorker which published an article in October 2019 that was critical of Joe Biden's son Hunter for his business dealings with Ukraine.

                84%

                The overall score is a weighted number that takes into account conflict of interest, bias, deception and other practices that undermine the credibility of the source. It is calculated as:
                (Site Conflicts Of Interest + Author Conflicts Of Interest) / 2.0 * 0.2 + ArticleBiasScore * 0.20 + UniquePointsScore * 0.05 + DeceptionScore * 0.20 + ReadabilityScore * 0.05 + FallacyScore * 0.20

                A score that takes into consideration the content for flow, interruptions with ads, and overt search engine optimization techniques that makes the content hard to understand

                FBI informant charged with lying about Joe and Hunter Biden's ties to Ukrainian energy company

                The Associated Press News Thursday, 15 February 2024 22:14
                • Unique Points
                  • FBI informant Alexander Smirnov has been charged with fabricating a bribery scheme involving President Joe Biden, his son Hunter and a Ukrainian energy company.
                  • Smirnov falsely reported to the FBI in June 2020 that executives associated with Burisma paid Hunter and Joe Biden $5 million each in 2015 or 2016.
                • Accuracy
                  • The FBI has a treasure trove of evidence against the Bidens.
                  • Frequent viewers of conservative media are well acquainted with Smirnov and have heard about his allegations against Joe Biden. Fox News hosts like Sean Hannity have featured 85 segments in 2023 on the allegations, describing them as part of a narrative known as the 'Biden crime family'.
                  • In the 37-page indictment, prosecutors state that Smirnov lied about his claims of Joe Biden's criminal activity. The indictment states that Smirnov never provided any evidence for an explosive allegation he made against Burisma executives in 2015.
                • Deception (50%)
                  The article is deceptive in several ways. Firstly, the title of the article implies that Hunter Biden has been charged with lying about his ties to Burisma when in fact it was an FBI informant who made false claims about these ties. Secondly, the author falsely states that Smirnov had contact with Burisma executives in 2017 and later transformed these routine business contacts into bribery allegations against Joe Biden. In reality, Smirnov's alleged bribery scheme took place between 2015-2016 and not after President Barack Obama left office as the article claims. Lastly, the author states that Hunter Biden is expected to give a deposition later this month but fails to mention that he has already given one in September 2023.
                  • The title of the article implies that Hunter Biden has been charged with lying about his ties to Burisma when in fact it was an FBI informant who made false claims about these ties.
                  • The author states that Hunter Biden is expected to give a deposition later this month but fails to mention that he has already given one in September 2023.
                  • The author falsely states that Smirnov had contact with Burisma executives in 2017 and later transformed these routine business contacts into bribery allegations against Joe Biden. In reality, Smirnov's alleged bribery scheme took place between 2015-2016 and not after President Barack Obama left office as the article claims.
                • Fallacies (100%)
                  None Found At Time Of Publication
                • Bias (85%)
                  The article contains a clear example of political bias. The author is an FBI informant who has been charged with fabricating bribery allegations involving President Joe Biden and his son Hunter. These allegations are central to the Republican impeachment inquiry in Congress, which shows that there is a strong partisan divide over these issues.
                  • The article mentions that Smirnov falsely reported to the FBI in June 2020 that executives associated with Burisma paid Hunter and Joe Biden $5 million each. This statement clearly implies political bias, as it is being used by Republicans to impeach President Biden.
                  • Site Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
                    None Found At Time Of Publication
                  • Author Conflicts Of Interest (0%)
                    None Found At Time Of Publication