Overview

Hunter Biden iPhone Hack, also known as Hunter Biden iCloud Hack, refers to the hacking of Hunter Biden (son of U.S. President Joe Biden) and his iPad/phone in July 2022, which allegedly included multiple photos, videos and messages of Hunter discussing or partaking in controversial activities such as drug use and soliciting prostitutes, among others. Anons on the website 4chan originally posted the Apple iCloud password to an account they claimed belonged to Hunter Biden showing several hundred messages and other media. The controversy came roughly two years after the NY Post Hunter Biden hard drive leak occurred in 2020. Additionally, a prominent feature of the hack was speculation regarding the nickname Pedo Peter.

Background

2020 NY Post Hunter Biden Hard Drive Leak

In mid-October 2020, the New York Post^[5] published an article on Hunter Biden's hard drive leak regarding emails allegedly sent between Hunter Biden, Joe Biden and a Ukrainian businessman after they reportedly obtained the hard drive of a computer belonging to Hunter. The article included photographs of Hunter, which were subsequently used in reaction images and photoshops on various online platforms (shown below). After links to the article were suppressed on Twitter and Facebook, many began speculating that the censorship resulted in a surge of interest in the story due to the Streisand Effect.

The report claimed that the hard drive was obtained by a computer repair shop owner, who copied the contents of the computer before handing it over to authorities. The files were later sent to Robert Costello, the lawyer for former Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

History

July 2022 Hunter Biden iCloud Hack

On July 9th, 2022, at 2:19 a.m. EST, a KiwiAnon^[1] made a thread^[6] detailing that they work in IT and they had direct, first-hand knowledge of the Hunter Biden laptop that has been in custody for several years. He claimed that he was being threatened and pushed to be a part of something and that after detailing more information about the iCloud and iPad used by Hunter Biden, he gave a final warning about how he can push a button and send everything to the public (shown below). After posting various screenshots later on in the thread, the password for the iCloud, as well as several links on where and what to do with the information, was posted by the KiwiAnon, and it purportedly unlocked the account.

On July 9th, shortly after the login info was posted, a 4chan thread then popped up called "Biden iPhone Backup General"^[2] in which it was stated that the iCloud allegedly belonging to Hunter Biden was hacked and the password was posted with instructions for people to try and get the information off it in an easy-to-use format that allowed additional users to dig into the supposed data (shown below).

The anon additionally claimed, "The Hunter Biden disk is REAL. But its not about the DISK, more so its about the Iphone backup thats on the disk. THE ENTIRE Hunter Binden DISK thing is 100% operated by the FEDS. Their goals are UNKNOWN to me. Yes the FEDS controlled by the current administration" (shown below).

Online Reactions

The online reaction after the leak on July 9th, 2022, was instantaneous and massive, as a number of new images and videos allegedly depicting Hunter Biden arguing with prostitutes about drugs, engaging in sexual acts and conversations between him and Joe Biden (in which he purportedly named his father 'Pedo Peter' as the contact info) became the largest topics surrounding the hack that quickly gained traction online.

For example, on July 9th, "Pedo Peter" became a trending hashtag with some pointing out that in 2020, Joe Biden purportedly used the handle "Peter Henderson" in email chains and that it appeared to roughly correlate to the timing of the iPad messages that have that set as his name. On July 10th, Twitter user SamWheat753^[3] tweeted "#4chan is going to take down this whole administration" with an image of a tweet originally from R.J. Kasheem that discussed the nickname, receiving over 740 likes and 260 retweets in less than 24 hours (shown below).

On July 10th, Twitter account @TheVenetianDoge^[4] posted a Piper Perri Surrounded meme with 4chan being the ones surrounding Joe Biden and the message "Anons declared a special operation in Bidenstan," receiving over 310 likes and 65 retweets in 24 hours (shown below).

Multiple threads sharing new keychain or download links surfaced on 4chan's /pol/^[7][8] board going into the next few days of July 2022. In each thread, anons on the site shared images and videos from the files, turning many of them into memes. These memes and discussions spread to platforms like Twitter in the following days. For instance, on July 10th, Twitter^[9] user MachiavelliMemz tweeted a video meme titled, "Ten Crack Commandments," which re-edited multiple Hunter Biden videos in one, earning roughly 17,800 views in less than a day (shown below).

Ten Crack Commandments#HunterBidensLaptop pic.twitter.com/GwOYJtxzPC

— Machiavelli Memez (@MachiavelliMemz) July 11, 2022

One of the most viral videos from the file leak allegedly showed Hunter Biden weighing what some claimed to be crack cocaine on a scale while talking with a prostitute about how much it weighed. The video was posted to Twitter on July 10th by user njgloyper^[13] and then reposted by bennyjohnson^[10] who received roughly 76,500 likes and 6.6 million views in less than 24 hours.

Another notable video allegedly showed Hunter Biden walking on a beach appearing sweaty and disturbed, claiming, "My pants fell off…..3 days clean." This video was posted to Twitter^[11] by the user CensoredMJ on July 10th and earned roughly 3,800 likes and 200,900 views in less than a day (shown below).

Sharing Hunter’s recent accomplishments. “My pants fell off…..3 days clean.” That sums it all up for this member of the #Biden family. Thank you 4Chan, for doing what the FBI claim they couldn’t do.👍🏼 pic.twitter.com/9LD6lR1hFD

— mary jane 🇺🇸 (@CensoredMJ) July 10, 2022

Other memes and reactions surfaced regarding President Joe Biden's imagined response to his son's leak. For instance, on July 10th, 2022, Twitter^[12] user edwardrussl used a The Office template that showed panic, captioning it, "Live from White House after Hunter Biden leaks." The tweet received roughly 41,200 views and 600 likes in less than a day (shown below).

pic.twitter.com/xtrAYiclax

— Edward (@edwardrussl) July 11, 2022

Search Interest

External References