The
New York Post
rose up on Wednesday (October 14) against measures taken by Facebook and Twitter to limit online sharing of a controversial daily article about Democratic White House candidate Joe Biden, just three weeks before the presidential election .
The conservative newspaper published emails that were allegedly illegally retrieved from a computer belonging to Hunter Biden, the son of Barack Obama's ex-vice president.
Read also: Joe Biden or the tragic fate of an American family
These messages revive accusations leveled against Joe Biden by Donald Trump's camp, according to which he helped the Ukrainian gas group Burisma to escape corruption investigations.
Hunter Biden served from 2014 to 2019 on the company's supervisory board.
Burisma has been at the center of the landmark impeachment trial against Donald Trump, accused of pressuring Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden and Hunter's business activities.
The US president was acquitted in February.
But one of Facebook's executives, Andy Stone, questioned the veracity of the posts and said the daily's information was going to be verified.
Pending its results, their visibility would be reduced on the platform, he said.
Twitter also confirmed to AFP that it had blocked the dissemination of the daily information because its content had been hacked.
In an editorial, the tabloid, one of the most widely read in the country, denounced the
"censorship of Facebook to help the campaign of Joe Biden"
.
"Censor first, ask the questions later: it is a scandalous attitude for one of the most powerful platforms in the United States"
, continues the editorial, accusing Facebook of having become
"a propaganda machine"
.
Read also: United States: Asked about his son, Biden loses his temper at a meeting
The
New York Post
claims to have obtained a copy of the hard drive of a laptop computer seized by the FBI containing messages, photos and personal videos of Hunter Biden, and proving according to the newspaper he presented to his father a person in charge of Burisma.
The former vice president has always denied discussing his activities abroad with his son when he was in power.
In an email dated April 17, 2015, Vadim Pojarskïi, a member of the Burisma group's management, thanked Hunter Biden for an invitation to Washington
"giving him the opportunity to meet your father and spend time together
.
"
A spokesperson for Joe Biden denied the tabloid's allegations, saying that no meeting with Vadim Pojarskïi had taken place, according to his official program at the time.
Joe Biden, who supported reforms in Ukraine, obtained in March 2016 the dismissal of Ukrainian Attorney General Viktor Chokine, who had opened anti-corruption investigations against Burisma.
His departure was also requested by the European Union and the IMF who denounced his poor results against corruption.
But for Donald Trump and his supporters, this sacking was meant to protect Hunter Biden.
Joe Biden
"lied to the American people by saying that he never discussed his son's activities abroad,"
his campaign team said Wednesday.