Nude man seen in hotel surveillance video isn't Hunter Biden | Fact check
The claim: Hunter Biden was seen nude on hotel surveillance, chasing and dragging woman
A June 8 post on X, formerly Twitter (direct link, archive link) shows a video of a naked man chasing a woman who escapes a hotel room. He then drags her by her ankle back into the room.
“Ummmmmm..... first P-diddy, and now Hunter Biden,” the caption reads, referencing a similar surveillance video that showed music producer Sean “Diddy” Combs kick, hit and drag his then-girlfriend in a hotel hallway while wearing only socks and a towel.
The X post was shared more than 7,000 times in four days. Other social media posts and websites shared the same claim, including a June 9 article from The People’s Voice that was shared widely on Facebook.
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Our rating: False
Biden is not the man in the video. His back tattoos do not match those of the man in the hotel. Chinese social media users and platforms first shared the footage in May, and none linked it to Biden.
Biden’s tattoo is of New York's Finger Lakes region
The president’s son made headlines on June 11 after a jury found him guilty of three federal gun charges tied to his purchase of a revolver in 2018. Biden, who has a history of addiction to crack cocaine, was convicted on two charges of lying about his drug use while buying the firearm and one count of possessing the weapon as a drug user.
But he’s not the man in the viral video. That man's tattoos are different than Biden's, whose ink resembles New York’s Finger Lakes region in honor of his mother, Neilia Biden, who grew up there. Neilia, who was President Joe Biden's first wife, died in a car crash in 1972 that also killed the couple's 1-year-old daughter, Naomi, and left Hunter and his brother Beau severely injured.
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The origin of the video is unclear, but a reverse image search shows the video and screenshots of it were shared as early as May 21 by Chinese social media users on X and Instagram, as well as on at least one Chinese website. These earliest versions of the post make no mention of Hunter Biden.
The X user who shared the post could not be reached for comment. USA TODAY also reached out to The People's Voice but did not immediately receive a response. The website regularly shares misinformation.
Reuters, Lead Stories and Snopes also debunked the claim.
Our fact-check sources:
NPR, June 11, Hunter Biden found guilty on all counts
The New York Times, Feb. 28, 2020, There’s a New Artist in Town. The Name Is Biden.
@Hipstercrite, June 21, X post
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hunter Biden not shown in graphic hotel security video | Fact check
