{"id":15081,"date":"2025-03-24T15:38:15","date_gmt":"2025-03-24T15:38:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/how-an-autopen-conspiracy-theory-about-biden-went-viral\/"},"modified":"2025-03-24T15:38:15","modified_gmt":"2025-03-24T15:38:15","slug":"how-an-autopen-conspiracy-theory-about-biden-went-viral","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/how-an-autopen-conspiracy-theory-about-biden-went-viral\/","title":{"rendered":"How an Autopen Conspiracy Theory About Biden Went Viral"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- ItShrt World News -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"1882483372\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-0\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mike Howell was looking at his phone in an airport lounge this month when he saw a letter from the attorney general of Missouri questioning whether President Joseph R. Biden Jr. had the \u201cmental capacity\u201d to sign the pardons and executive orders he issued during his final months in office.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Howell, executive director of the Oversight Project, a branch of the conservative Heritage Foundation, sensed an opportunity, he said in an interview. For months, he had been comparing Mr. Biden\u2019s signature on dozens of official documents and noting that many of them appeared identical. Before boarding his flight, Mr. Howell made a conspiratorial post on X: \u201cWhoever controlled the autopen controlled the presidency.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">While critics of Mr. Biden questioned his fitness for office, no evidence has emerged that he did not consent to any of the acts bearing his signature.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Yet by the time Mr. Howell landed, his post had gone viral. Within days, the notion that shadowy deep state operatives had been secretly running the country instead of Mr. Biden, using a mechanical contraption to achieve their diabolical aims, had erupted into a furor.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-1\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">An autopen is a machine that uses a real pen to copy a person\u2019s actual signature. Presidents and other <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/politics\/archive\/2013\/01\/when-a-robot-signs-a-bill-a-brief-history-of-the-autopen\/454803\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">politicians have used such devices for decades<\/a> with little public interest. In the first two months of this year, the term was mentioned a total of 49 times on television, radio and podcasts in the United States, according to data from the media tracker Critical Mention.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">It was uttered 6,188 times on March 17 alone.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Right-wing talk radio, podcasts and cable news shows have now devoted hundreds of segments to the arcana of wet signatures and autopen technology. They are particularly focused on Mr. Biden\u2019s signatures on his pardons of political allies like Senator Adam Schiff, the California Democrat, as well as his son Hunter Biden. And they claim that the former president was mentally impaired and unaware of what documents he was being asked to endorse.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">President Trump himself has brought the issue up repeatedly over the past week, decrying Mr. Biden\u2019s use of the autopen. He claimed without providing evidence that Mr. Biden had not authorized the pardons, posting on Truth Social that they were \u201cvoid, vacant, and of no further effect.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Although Mr. Trump himself has <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/BulwarkOnline\/status\/1901736602772144554\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">acknowledged using an autopen<\/a> at times, he raised the question again on Friday during <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=MVyVfkL7PwM\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">an Oval Office news conference<\/a>: \u201cThe person that operated the autopen, I think we ought to find out who that was because I guess that was the real president.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Biden hasn\u2019t commented on whether or not he personally signed every pardon, although Neera Tanden, a senior aide during his administration, posted online this week that \u201cthere\u2019s a lot by autopen in every administration.\u201d A spokeswoman for Mr. Biden did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-2\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">There are no federal statutes that prohibit the use of the device, and two decades ago a <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/file\/494411\/dl?inline=\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Justice Department memo<\/a> confirmed that presidents could \u201cdirect a subordinate to affix the president\u2019s signature to\u201d bills. <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/s3.documentcloud.org\/documents\/3258398\/Wheat-Notaries.pdf\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">A prior memo, from 1929<\/a>, stated that a pardon \u201cneed not have the president\u2019s autograph,\u201d and legal experts have cast serious doubts on a president\u2019s ability to rescind another president\u2019s pardons.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The rapid transformation of a speculative and legally shaky hypothesis, concocted by pro-Trump activists into a talking point endorsed at the highest level of government, illustrates the extraordinary efficiency of today\u2019s right-wing media environment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cIt does show how corrupted our information ecosystem is that something like this can gain attention,\u201d said Welton Chang, co-founder and chief executive of Pyrra Technologies, a digital threat company that tracks trends on social media.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">It is not exactly clear where the conspiracy theory took root, but Pyrra noticed a solitary posting on the 4chan message board referring to autopens and Mr. Biden back in October, even before he granted the pardons in question.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">By then, Mr. Howell\u2019s <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/04\/30\/us\/politics\/immigration-disinformation-campaign-biden-trump.html\" title=\"\">Oversight Project<\/a>, started in 2022 by the Heritage Foundation with a mission of \u201cincreasing aggressive oversight of the Biden administration,\u201d was already deep into its research.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-3\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Early last summer, Jason Chaffetz, a former congressman who is now a visiting fellow with the Oversight Project, floated the idea of gathering copies of presidential documents signed by Mr. Biden to see if the signatures matched up.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cIt just was a suspicion that perhaps all of those were not authentic,\u201d Mr. Chaffetz said in an interview. \u201cThis is the kind of thing <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/09\/07\/us\/politics\/heritage-foundation-2024-campaign-immigration.html\" title=\"\">we dive into<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">A dozen staff members began compiling documents from the Federal Register and requesting copies of resolutions and bills from Congress from the National Archives, Mr. Howell said. But after Mr. Biden dropped out of the race in late June, the project felt less urgent.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">That changed when Andrew Bailey, the attorney general of Missouri, posted a three-page letter on X on March 5 calling for an \u201cinvestigation into Mr. Biden\u2019s mental capacity in his final days in office.\u201d It suggested, without any direct evidence, that members of the former president\u2019s staff exploited him and pushed through executive orders and pardons he wouldn\u2019t have endorsed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Howell said he didn\u2019t know Mr. Bailey and had no warning the letter was coming. Still, it dovetailed so perfectly with the signature research he had already conducted that he couldn\u2019t believe his luck.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-4\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cIt was No. 8 on the to-do list,\u201d Mr. Howell said. \u201cThen A.G. Bailey drops his letter and it shoots to the top.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Howell\u2019s thread on X racked up more than three million views. Within hours, the subject was being widely discussed on conservative talk radio, which often mines social media for topics.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">By the next day, it had leaped to popular podcasts such as the one hosted by Glenn Beck, who has 1.4 million subscribers on YouTube, and from there to cable news, with the Fox Business Network host Elizabeth MacDonald asking, \u201cShould we figure out who controlled Biden\u2019s autopen and who controlled Joe Biden\u2019s presidency?\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">With public interest growing, the Oversight Project pushed on. \u201cWe determined that the most legally vulnerable documents were the pardons,\u201d said Mr. Howell, who published an analysis of signatures on five pardons late last week.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Those pardons, issued in the final full day of Mr. Biden\u2019s term and designed to pre-empt potential prosecution, had infuriated Mr. Trump. The swirling questions about Mr. Biden\u2019s signatures caught his attention.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-5\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cYou don\u2019t use autopen. No. 1, it is disrespectful to the office. No. 2, maybe it\u2019s not even valid, because who is getting him to sign?\u201d Mr. Trump said during a news conference at the Justice Department a day after the Oversight Project published its findings on the pardons.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Some critics, including the conservative legal scholar Jonathan Turley, have challenged the idea that the pardons could be nullified, noting that presidents are permitted to use autopen and that there has been no concrete evidence of a conspiracy to circumvent Mr. Biden\u2019s will. \u201cThis dog will not hunt,\u201d Mr. Turley wrote on X.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Howell said the only feasible way to test that question was in the courts, which would require the Justice Department\u2019s charging someone who had received a pardon from Mr. Biden with a crime.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cIt\u2019s a rocket ship to the Supreme Court if that happens,\u201d Mr. Howell said, adding that his work is far from over. This week, he published a 29-page legal memo on autopens. He also pledged to use the Freedom of Information Act to seek out more documents signed by Mr. Biden and is considering hiring forensic handwriting experts to review each one.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cWe\u2019re loading up the cannon for all sorts of things,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- ItShrt World News -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"1882483372\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/03\/22\/business\/media\/autopen-biden-trump-conspiracy-theory.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mike Howell was looking at his phone in an airport lounge this month when he saw a letter from the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15082,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[172,4793,103,173,1985,114,133,4794,104,501,118,113,111],"class_list":["post-15081","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology","tag-amnesties","tag-autopen","tag-biden","tag-commutations-and-pardons","tag-conspiracy-theories","tag-donald-j","tag-executive-orders-and-memorandums","tag-heritage-foundation","tag-joseph-r-jr","tag-presidents-and-presidency-us","tag-social-media","tag-trump","tag-united-states-politics-and-government"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How an Autopen Conspiracy Theory About Biden Went Viral - World News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/how-an-autopen-conspiracy-theory-about-biden-went-viral\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How an Autopen Conspiracy Theory About Biden Went Viral - World News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Mike Howell was looking at his phone in an airport lounge this month when he saw a letter from the\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/how-an-autopen-conspiracy-theory-about-biden-went-viral\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"World News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-03-24T15:38:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/03\/21\/multimedia\/00biz-autopen-lzch\/00biz-autopen-lzch-facebookJumbo.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"News\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/03\/21\/multimedia\/00biz-autopen-lzch\/00biz-autopen-lzch-facebookJumbo.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"News\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/how-an-autopen-conspiracy-theory-about-biden-went-viral\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/how-an-autopen-conspiracy-theory-about-biden-went-viral\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"News\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/#\/schema\/person\/1d8ae7348e048cb7984f26b4dd818ff2\"},\"headline\":\"How an Autopen Conspiracy Theory About Biden Went Viral\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-03-24T15:38:15+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-03-24T15:38:15+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/how-an-autopen-conspiracy-theory-about-biden-went-viral\/\"},\"wordCount\":1301,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/how-an-autopen-conspiracy-theory-about-biden-went-viral\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/03\/21\/multimedia\/00biz-autopen-lzch\/00biz-autopen-lzch-facebookJumbo.jpg?w=1050&resize=1050,549&ssl=1\",\"keywords\":[\"Amnesties\",\"Autopen\",\"Biden\",\"Commutations and Pardons\",\"Conspiracy Theories\",\"Donald J\",\"Executive Orders and Memorandums\",\"Heritage Foundation\",\"Joseph R Jr\",\"Presidents and Presidency (US)\",\"Social Media\",\"Trump\",\"United States Politics and Government\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Technology\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/how-an-autopen-conspiracy-theory-about-biden-went-viral\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/how-an-autopen-conspiracy-theory-about-biden-went-viral\/\",\"name\":\"How an Autopen Conspiracy Theory About Biden Went Viral - World News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/how-an-autopen-conspiracy-theory-about-biden-went-viral\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/how-an-autopen-conspiracy-theory-about-biden-went-viral\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/03\/21\/multimedia\/00biz-autopen-lzch\/00biz-autopen-lzch-facebookJumbo.jpg?w=1050&resize=1050,549&ssl=1\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-03-24T15:38:15+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-03-24T15:38:15+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/how-an-autopen-conspiracy-theory-about-biden-went-viral\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/how-an-autopen-conspiracy-theory-about-biden-went-viral\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/how-an-autopen-conspiracy-theory-about-biden-went-viral\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/03\/21\/multimedia\/00biz-autopen-lzch\/00biz-autopen-lzch-facebookJumbo.jpg?w=1050&resize=1050,549&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/03\/21\/multimedia\/00biz-autopen-lzch\/00biz-autopen-lzch-facebookJumbo.jpg?w=1050&resize=1050,549&ssl=1\",\"width\":1050,\"height\":549},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/how-an-autopen-conspiracy-theory-about-biden-went-viral\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How an Autopen Conspiracy Theory About Biden Went Viral\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/\",\"name\":\"World News\",\"description\":\"World News\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/#organization\",\"name\":\"World News\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2025\/01\/cropped-download.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2025\/01\/cropped-download.png\",\"width\":581,\"height\":581,\"caption\":\"World News\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/#\/schema\/person\/1d8ae7348e048cb7984f26b4dd818ff2\",\"name\":\"News\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/author\/admin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How an Autopen Conspiracy Theory About Biden Went Viral - World News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/how-an-autopen-conspiracy-theory-about-biden-went-viral\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How an Autopen Conspiracy Theory About Biden Went Viral - World News","og_description":"Mike Howell was looking at his phone in an airport lounge this month when he saw a letter from the","og_url":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/how-an-autopen-conspiracy-theory-about-biden-went-viral\/","og_site_name":"World News","article_published_time":"2025-03-24T15:38:15+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/03\/21\/multimedia\/00biz-autopen-lzch\/00biz-autopen-lzch-facebookJumbo.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"News","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_image":"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/03\/21\/multimedia\/00biz-autopen-lzch\/00biz-autopen-lzch-facebookJumbo.jpg","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"News","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/how-an-autopen-conspiracy-theory-about-biden-went-viral\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/how-an-autopen-conspiracy-theory-about-biden-went-viral\/"},"author":{"name":"News","@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/#\/schema\/person\/1d8ae7348e048cb7984f26b4dd818ff2"},"headline":"How an Autopen Conspiracy Theory About Biden Went Viral","datePublished":"2025-03-24T15:38:15+00:00","dateModified":"2025-03-24T15:38:15+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/how-an-autopen-conspiracy-theory-about-biden-went-viral\/"},"wordCount":1301,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/how-an-autopen-conspiracy-theory-about-biden-went-viral\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/03\/21\/multimedia\/00biz-autopen-lzch\/00biz-autopen-lzch-facebookJumbo.jpg?w=1050&resize=1050,549&ssl=1","keywords":["Amnesties","Autopen","Biden","Commutations and Pardons","Conspiracy Theories","Donald J","Executive Orders and Memorandums","Heritage Foundation","Joseph R Jr","Presidents and Presidency (US)","Social Media","Trump","United States Politics and Government"],"articleSection":["Technology"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/how-an-autopen-conspiracy-theory-about-biden-went-viral\/","url":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/how-an-autopen-conspiracy-theory-about-biden-went-viral\/","name":"How an Autopen Conspiracy Theory About Biden Went Viral - World News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/how-an-autopen-conspiracy-theory-about-biden-went-viral\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/how-an-autopen-conspiracy-theory-about-biden-went-viral\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/03\/21\/multimedia\/00biz-autopen-lzch\/00biz-autopen-lzch-facebookJumbo.jpg?w=1050&resize=1050,549&ssl=1","datePublished":"2025-03-24T15:38:15+00:00","dateModified":"2025-03-24T15:38:15+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/how-an-autopen-conspiracy-theory-about-biden-went-viral\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/how-an-autopen-conspiracy-theory-about-biden-went-viral\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/how-an-autopen-conspiracy-theory-about-biden-went-viral\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/03\/21\/multimedia\/00biz-autopen-lzch\/00biz-autopen-lzch-facebookJumbo.jpg?w=1050&resize=1050,549&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/03\/21\/multimedia\/00biz-autopen-lzch\/00biz-autopen-lzch-facebookJumbo.jpg?w=1050&resize=1050,549&ssl=1","width":1050,"height":549},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/how-an-autopen-conspiracy-theory-about-biden-went-viral\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How an Autopen Conspiracy Theory About Biden Went Viral"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/#website","url":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/","name":"World News","description":"World News","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/#organization","name":"World News","url":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2025\/01\/cropped-download.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2025\/01\/cropped-download.png","width":581,"height":581,"caption":"World News"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/#\/schema\/person\/1d8ae7348e048cb7984f26b4dd818ff2","name":"News","url":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"magazineBlocksPostFeaturedMedia":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/03\/21\/multimedia\/00biz-autopen-lzch\/00biz-autopen-lzch-facebookJumbo.jpg?w=150&resize=150,150&ssl=1","medium":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/03\/21\/multimedia\/00biz-autopen-lzch\/00biz-autopen-lzch-facebookJumbo.jpg?w=300&resize=300,300&ssl=1","medium_large":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/03\/21\/multimedia\/00biz-autopen-lzch\/00biz-autopen-lzch-facebookJumbo.jpg?w=768&resize=768,0&ssl=1","large":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/03\/21\/multimedia\/00biz-autopen-lzch\/00biz-autopen-lzch-facebookJumbo.jpg?w=1024&resize=1024,1024&ssl=1","1536x1536":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/03\/21\/multimedia\/00biz-autopen-lzch\/00biz-autopen-lzch-facebookJumbo.jpg?w=1536&resize=1536,1536&ssl=1","2048x2048":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/03\/21\/multimedia\/00biz-autopen-lzch\/00biz-autopen-lzch-facebookJumbo.jpg?w=2048&resize=2048,2048&ssl=1","colormag-highlighted-post":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/03\/21\/multimedia\/00biz-autopen-lzch\/00biz-autopen-lzch-facebookJumbo.jpg?w=392&resize=392,272&ssl=1","colormag-featured-post-medium":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/03\/21\/multimedia\/00biz-autopen-lzch\/00biz-autopen-lzch-facebookJumbo.jpg?w=390&resize=390,205&ssl=1","colormag-featured-post-small":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/03\/21\/multimedia\/00biz-autopen-lzch\/00biz-autopen-lzch-facebookJumbo.jpg?w=130&resize=130,90&ssl=1","colormag-featured-image":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/03\/21\/multimedia\/00biz-autopen-lzch\/00biz-autopen-lzch-facebookJumbo.jpg?w=800&resize=800,445&ssl=1","colormag-default-news":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/03\/21\/multimedia\/00biz-autopen-lzch\/00biz-autopen-lzch-facebookJumbo.jpg?w=150&resize=150,150&ssl=1","colormag-featured-image-large":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/03\/21\/multimedia\/00biz-autopen-lzch\/00biz-autopen-lzch-facebookJumbo.jpg?w=1400&resize=1400,600&ssl=1","colormag-elementor-block-extra-large-thumbnail":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/03\/21\/multimedia\/00biz-autopen-lzch\/00biz-autopen-lzch-facebookJumbo.jpg?w=1155&resize=1155,480&ssl=1","colormag-elementor-grid-large-thumbnail":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/03\/21\/multimedia\/00biz-autopen-lzch\/00biz-autopen-lzch-facebookJumbo.jpg?w=600&resize=600,417&ssl=1","colormag-elementor-grid-small-thumbnail":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/03\/21\/multimedia\/00biz-autopen-lzch\/00biz-autopen-lzch-facebookJumbo.jpg?w=285&resize=285,450&ssl=1","colormag-elementor-grid-medium-large-thumbnail":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/03\/21\/multimedia\/00biz-autopen-lzch\/00biz-autopen-lzch-facebookJumbo.jpg?w=575&resize=575,198&ssl=1"},"magazineBlocksPostAuthor":{"name":"News","avatar":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e85cf08852547781a5f631f3713dbb5197ed4b54e32ae19c7d5769b8c8504897?s=96&d=mm&r=g"},"magazineBlocksPostCommentsNumber":false,"magazineBlocksPostExcerpt":"Mike Howell was looking at his phone in an airport lounge this month when he saw a letter from the","magazineBlocksPostCategories":["Technology"],"magazineBlocksPostViewCount":19,"magazineBlocksPostReadTime":7,"magazine_blocks_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/03\/21\/multimedia\/00biz-autopen-lzch\/00biz-autopen-lzch-facebookJumbo.jpg?w=1050&resize=1050,549&ssl=1",1050,549,false],"medium":["https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/03\/21\/multimedia\/00biz-autopen-lzch\/00biz-autopen-lzch-facebookJumbo.jpg?w=300&resize=300,300&ssl=1",300,300,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/03\/21\/multimedia\/00biz-autopen-lzch\/00biz-autopen-lzch-facebookJumbo.jpg?w=150&resize=150,150&ssl=1",150,150,false]},"magazine_blocks_author":{"display_name":"News","author_link":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/author\/admin\/"},"magazine_blocks_comment":0,"magazine_blocks_author_image":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e85cf08852547781a5f631f3713dbb5197ed4b54e32ae19c7d5769b8c8504897?s=96&d=mm&r=g","magazine_blocks_category":"<a href=\"#\" class=\"category-link category-link-39\">Technology<\/a>","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15081","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15081"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15081\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15082"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15081"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15081"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15081"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}