A recent turn of events has seen Snopes, a reputable fact-checking platform, alter its rating about the allegations attributed to Ashley Biden which indicated that her father behaved improperly with her. The rating was modified from ‘unproven’ to ‘true’, following her acknowledgment of the entries in a legally significant document. The diary of Biden was illicitly procured and later bought by Project Veritas for a sum of $40,000, a few weeks preceding the 2020 presidential elections. In the diary, Biden vividly narrates her ordeal of being ‘hyper-sexualized’ when she was a minor, specifically mentioning the instances of showering with her father that she felt were ‘probably not appropriate.’ These details were made public after the National File first published the photos.
Snopes updated its question from being ambiguous to specific after viewing an April 8 letter from Ashley to Chief U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain that resulted in Aimee Harris’ sentencing for conspiracy to traffic and sell the diary. This saw the platform’s rating on this issue progress from ‘unproven’ to ‘true’ on April 29. The title of the fact-check also underwent a revision on Tuesday and was updated from ‘Did Ashley Biden Accuse Joe Biden of Inappropriate Behavior in a ‘Leaked Diary’?’ to ‘Did Ashley Biden Call Childhood Showers with Her Father ‘Probably Inappropriate’ in Leaked Diary?’
In an editorial annotation, Snopes discussed the adjustments that were made to the headline and the claim of this fact check for added specificity. According to Ashley’s disclosed letter, she expressed strong dismay over the public exposure of her private feelings and thoughts, writing, ‘I will forever have to deal with the fact that my personal journal can be viewed online.’ She also expresses distress over the rampant misinterpretation of her diary and the false accusations levelled against the characters of herself and her loved ones.
In that same letter, she stressed that this ordeal was not only a reiteration of the trauma but was in itself an appalling fright that she suffered. Ashley places an emphasis on the intentional misconduct of Ms. Harris, identifying it to be the cause of her repeated hardship. This letter is viewed by Snopes as providing the tangible verification of the journal’s genuineness, influencing the rating change.
In the year 2023, an audio recording of a conversation held between Ashley Biden and Project Veritas surfaced on the digital space, implying the journal in question indeed belonged to the president’s daughter. In the call, Biden requested return of her diary and confirmed it was hers. Snopes, in an update made in March 2023, accepted where the phone conversation with Project Veritas served the purpose of certifying that the diary was Ashley Biden’s property.
However, sources confirm that Project Veritas deliberately decided to postpone the publication of the document. James O’Keefe, Project Veritas’s former founder, stated their inability to confirm the document as belonging to Ashley Biden as the reason. Further, it was discovered that the intimate photograph detailing the father-daughter shower event was transferred from Project Veritas to the National File in October 2020, as stated by The Intercept.
Under interesting circumstances, the diary fell into the hands of two people who unknowingly discovered it when they moved into an apartment that Ashley Biden previously occupied, as reported by The Associated Press. Both Aimee Harris and Jonathan Kurlander were found guilty and convicted in August 2022 for the crime of intrastate transportation of the diary and for selling it. Harris was sentenced by a New York federal judge to serve a one-month term in jail followed by three years of probation.
During a conversation with Fox News in November 2021, James O’Keefe revealed his shocked state upon an unexpected visit from the FBI in a ‘pre-dawn raid.’ He detailed the situation where ‘ten FBI agents with a battering ram, [and] white blinding lights’ appeared at his residence while Project Veritas collectively decided not to release the contents of the diary due to issues confirming its veracity.
O’Keefe went on to tell Fox News that ‘Project Veritas gave the diary to law enforcement to make sure it got back to its rightful owner. We never published it.’ He then pointed out how the Department of Justice under the Biden administration, more specifically the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, seemed to be investigating the circumstances, asserting that the diary was stolen. The question left unanswered by O’Keefe was why would the president’s FBI and his Department of Justice look into the alleged theft of a diary. He asked, ‘In what world is the alleged theft of a diary investigated by the President’s FBI and his Department of Justice? A diary?’
Following Snopes’ updates, The Caller’s headline also underwent an edit. The lead quote of the news outlet which was formerly, ‘Did Ashley Biden Accuse Joe Biden Of Inappropriate Behavior?’ got updated to mirror the changes made to the headline by Snopes. The accurate context of the situation necessitated these modifications.
Amid all the recent developments, it is crucial to note that Snopes’ changes to their report were evidence-based. Maintaining their objective role as a fact-checking organization, they adopted due diligence in analyzing the available evidence, cross-verified its credibility, and revisited their stance accordingly. This update only reflects their adherence to factual accuracy and does not necessarily endorse or condemn any of the parties involved.
In an increasingly digital world, this incident serves as a stark reminder of the potential pitfalls. Privacy remains under constant threat, and even a stolen diary can trigger a national emergency. Information authenticity, privacy, and its implications pose a continually evolving challenge across all sectors of society.
The story of Ashley Biden’s diary raises many questions — about privacy, about the boundaries of family relationships, about the power wielded by tech companies, and about the role of fact-checking institutions in today’s age of information. The incident symbolizes the era’s crucial need for a meticulous investigation in order to derive truth and ensure justice for all.
