Yet another Hunter Biden conspiracy theory falls apart Search on Twitter for "Sinopec Hunter Biden" and this is just one of many tweets from GOP lawmakers and supporters that turn up: "Pres Biden reportedly sold oil fr[om] American reserves to China's Sinopec which Hunter Biden may still b[e] tied to via his financial ventures in China. If report correct that's OUTRAGEOUS." (via Sen. Charles E. Grassley of Iowa) What's going on here? A basic misunderstanding of global oil markets, as well as the usual hysteria about the president's son. Crude oil is an international commodity. Its price is determined by global supply and demand. The Biden administration is trying to increase the supply of oil to help bring down prices that have soared as the United States and its allies have tried to stem purchases of Russian energy products. What matters for the price of oil is how much oil there is — not who has it. Indeed, every oil industry analyst we contacted was puzzled by the fact that the recent sale to China suddenly was controversial. This is an example of how simple facts — oil from the strategic petroleum reserves was sold to a subsidiary of a Chinese company and Hunter Biden once has a business relationship with that company — are turned into something nefarious. By law, the contract was awarded to the highest bidders in a competitively bid process and Hunter Biden was many steps removed from the U.S. trading arm of the Chinese firm. Anyone suggests the Biden administration is doing something wrong here — as opposed to following the rules — earned Three Pinocchios. Enjoy this newsletter? Forward it to someone else who'd like it! If this email was forwarded to you, sign up here. Did you hear something fact-checkable? Send it here; we'll check it out. Once again, a GOP "cheap fake" about President Biden "Cheap fakes," or the practice of misrepresenting events that take place in a video by adding or leaving out context, aren't new. Attacks calling Biden's mental fitness into question aren't either, yet the occurrence of both phenomena aren't slowing down. This latest instance, as shepherded through one of the Republican National Committee's Twitter accounts, shows just how easy it is to pick apart a seemingly innocuous moment and imbue it with disingenuous meaning. The seven-second video tweeted by @RNCResearch of Biden's arrival doesn't reflect the U.S. president ready to take on the diplomatic challenges of the present. Instead, it shows a seemingly confused Biden, unsure of his surroundings — looking his age of 79 years. Biden says: "What am I doing now?" The longer source video of the arrival shows the complicated protocol ahead of a scheduled photo op with newly minted Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid. It shows the long receiving line and endless red carpet. But in the grand tradition of "cheap fakes," the snippet clipped and posted by @RNCResearch doesn't try to alter or change the video itself. It makes its point by stripping the context of the original moment by simply adding text. And like a good "cheap fake," it makes the viewer do the heavy lifting by letting you fill in the contextual blanks. We're always looking for fact-check suggestions. You can reach us via email, Twitter (@GlennKesslerWP and @AdriUsero) or Facebook. Read about our process and rating scale here, and sign up for the newsletter here. Scroll down for this week's Pinocchio roundup. | 
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