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Hunter Biden’s business links to Ukraine have been scrutinized repeatedly since the leak of details from his laptop purportedly showing communications with the country’s energy firm Burisma, among other items.

Criticism of President Joe Biden’s son has been fierce, with him only last week taking legal action surrounding the laptop saga, calling for a probe against allies of former President Donald Trump and others who have made public allegations about him.

Even now, as Hunter looks into legal action surrounding claims attached to the laptop, social media speculation continues, this time linking him and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The Claim

A tweet posted by @DC_Draino, on January 29, 2023, which has been viewed more than three million times, claimed that “Zelensky” ordered the destruction of files relating to Metabiota, a company that Hunter Biden ‘s former company, Rosemont Seneca, invested in.

@DC_Draino wrote: “Remember when the Pentagon confirmed the US partnered w/46 Ukrainian Bioweapon labs? And Hunter Biden secured millions for 1 of the labs – Metabiota? Well now we have a 2/24/22 letter from Zelensky ordering the destruction of all gov’t files for Metabiota.”

The tweet includes a screengrab of what appears to be a document, translated as from the “Ministry of Defense of Ukraine Branch State Archive of The Ministry of Ukraine.”

The translation states that “…in accordance with the Decree of the President of Ukraine…organized the devastating destruction of personal files of servicemen, employees and staff of the State Institution ‘Center for Public Health of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine,’ Ukrainian Research Anti-Plague Institute. I.I. Mechnikov of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine ‘, Zhytomyr Regional and Laboratory Centers of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine’, which worked together with scientists Metabiot Inc., Battelle.”

The @DC_Draino account belongs to conservative commentator Rogan O’Handley.

The Facts

The relationship between Hunter Biden, Metabiota, and Ukraine is not well explained in the tweet, the details of which are important before we consider the translated letter dictating a “Decree of the President of Ukraine.”

Metabiota is a San Francisco-based technology company which (according to its website) “strives to protect lives and to prevent, detect, and respond to the impact of outbreaks and epidemics on human and animal health, healthcare infrastructure, and global health security.”

An investigation by The Washington Post stated that a firm linked to Rosemont Seneca (Hunter Biden’s former investment company) invested money and raised money for Metabiota.

Around the same time, spending records show the U.S. Department of Defense invested more than $18 million into Metabiota. The Post investigation reported that a relatively small proportion of the funding was listed for “Ukraine research programs”, as federal contracting records state.

As reported by PolitiFact , since 2005 the U.S. government has partnered with the Ukrainian government, investing $200 million into labs, health facilities, and diagnostic sites, involving a number of companies including Metabiota.

As such, the link between Metabiota, Hunter Biden, and Ukraine here is tenuous. While the firm associated with Rosemont Seneca invested and raised money for Metabiota, there is no link here between the president’s son, Zelensky, and the destruction of documents.

Crucially, however, the letter now being shared on social media with the “Decree of the President of Ukraine” ordering the destruction of documents is completely bogus.

The independent Russian news site The Insider pointed out that the letter—which it said had previously appeared on Russian social media—contained a number of mistakes that indicated the text was not written in Ukrainian, including naming conventions, formatting errors, and incorrect references.

This includes a number of phrases and expressions which, The Insider reported, indicate the document was translated from Russian to Ukrainian.

The date on the letter—February 24, 2022—is the day when Russian forces launched their full-scale invasion of Ukraine when Zelensky would have had many pressing issues on his mind.

So, even if the link between Hunter Biden and Metabiota’s work in Ukraine was not already weak, the fabricated letter is not evidence that Zelensky was involved in the destruction of papers related to Metabiota.

Newsweek has contacted @DC_Draino, Metabiota, a Hunter Biden representative, and the Office of the President of Ukraine for comment.

The Ruling

False.

The tenuous link between Hunter Biden, Rosemont Seneca, Metabiota, and the Ukrainian government notwithstanding, the “letter” from the Ukrainian government has been debunked.

The letter, which was circulated on Russian social media in 2022, was littered with mistakes that indicated it was translated to Ukrainian from Russian.

FACT CHECK BY Newsweek’s Fact Check team

Pfizer’s involvement with the 2023 Grammy Awards sparked speculation online, with some viewers wondering how much input the pharmaceutical company had.

The annual music ceremony was held at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California on Sunday night, with Beyoncé winning big, and Harry Styles nabbing album of the year.

Putting the awards to one side, the choice of sponsors irked some viewers, who voiced their frustration on social media. Comedian and political commentator Tim Young was one of many on Twitter who called out the link with Pfizer . Director Robby Starbuck called Pfizer’s inclusion “on the nose” after its logo appeared after a satanic-themed performance by Sam Smith.

Newsweek reached out to Pfizer, which clarified its involvement with the 65th Annual Grammy Awards.

The Claim

Viewers of the 2023 Grammy Awards spotted a number of mentions of the pharmaceutical company Pfizer. This led to the conclusion that Pfizer must be an official sponsor of this year’s Grammy Awards.

Some people online, including apparently right-leaning political commentators, claimed that Pfizer’s involvement was an example of Democratic politics at play.

“The #GRAMMYs was sponsored by Pfizer and had Jill Biden hand out the award for song of the year… Which only makes sense if you’re a member of the leftist cult,” Young wrote on Twitter to his 830,000 followers.

“These demons are really exposing themselves lately,” Republican politician Elisa Martinez wrote, after Sam Smith and Kim Petras performed their song “Unholy.” The clip being shared online showed Smith performing dressed as the devil. “The 65th Grammy Awards is sponsored by Pfizer,” the voiceover said on air at the end of the performance.

Both performers of “Unholy” are members of the LGBTQ community. Smith uses they/them pronouns and came out as non-binary in 2019, while Petras, who was born in Germany, had gender confirmation surgery at 16 years old.

“You can’t make this stuff up,” podcast producer Elijah Schaffer wrote, also drawing the parallel between a “satanic” performance and the Pfizer mention. Florida-based GOP member Lavern Spicer called it “Devil Worship and Pfizer in the same minute.”

The Facts

While Pfizer is not listed as an official partner of the 2023 Grammy Awards, it has confirmed in a statement to Newsweek that it was a paid sponsor at this year’s event.

Responding to the reaction to Pfizer’s placement next to Sam Smith’s devil-themed performance, a Pfizer spokesperson told Newsweek , “We sponsored the overall Grammy’s event, not any particular performance. Beyond that, we don’t comment on our efforts to raise awareness.”

Unlike the likes of IBM, Google Pixel, Mastercard and Grey Goose, Pfizer is not listed on the Recording Academy’s website as an official partner. However, the Pfizer logo was clearly displayed during the live broadcast of the 65th Grammy Awards on CBS, and it clearly stated that the broadcast was “sponsored by Pfizer.”

The claims made across social media attempting to draw a link between Pfizer and Sam Smith’s “devil worship” performance have no evidence to support them, as suggested by Pfizer in its statement.

Newsweek also reached out to the Recording Academy and CBS for comment.

The Ruling

True.

FACT CHECK BY Jamie Burton

(CTN News) – Infrastructure and PC giant Dell Technologies is facing some massive changes as it lays off 6,650 of its global 133,000 employees. This is roughly 5 percent of its total global workforce.

In a letter sent to employees on Monday, Jeff Clarke, vice chairman and co-chief operating officer of Dell Technologies, explained to them: “The steps we’ve taken to stay ahead of the downturn impacts have no longer been enough,” he wrote in his letter announcing the layoffs.

“We now have to make additional decisions to prepare for the journey that lies ahead of us.”

It is reported that Dell has been making major changes within the company as growth in its bread-and-butter PC business declines rapidly, according to Clarke in a message sent to all employees titled “Preparing for the road ahead”.

A decline of nearly 30 percent was reported by Dell in its third fiscal quarter of 2023, which ended on Oct. 28, 2022. This was compared to the same period in 2022.

While there have been many questions raised concerning massive layoff round, there are still many that remain unanswered.

For example, where will the layoffs take place within the company? In what ways are structural changes being made? How come Michael Dell, the company’s chairman, CEO, and founder, did not announce the layoffs the company would be undertaking?

Before diving into those questions, it’s critical to keep in mind that Round Rock, Texas-based Dell Technologies is a market-share leader in storage, servers, and hyperconverged infrastructure, with a long history of being among the top PC players in the world as well.

At the moment, the company has a run rate of approximately $99 billion per year, which is a very high number.

In spite of this, IDC, a research firm, reported a 37 percent decline in shipments in the fourth quarter of 2022. In the third quarter of this year, according to PC data from IDC, the number of Dell PCs sold dropped more than any other PC manufacturer. This includes Lenovo, HP Inc., and Apple.

It is estimated that global shipments were down 28 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022 compared to the fourth quarter of 2021.

A huge layoff in the IT department at Dell is hardly the first time that a technology company has done this. A couple of weeks ago, Microso ft announ ced that it would lay off 10,000 employees.

Google announced that it would cut 12,000 employees. HP , a fellow PC manufacturer, announced that it would lay off 6,000 employees by the year 2025.

There are six things that channel partners, investors, and Dell employees need to know about the 6,650 layoffs that Dell Technologies announced this week.

SEE ALSO:

Google Planning To Launch Its Own Version Of ChatGPT Soon

It’ll only be a couple of months before Ufotable’s Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba returns for its third season . Season two received high marks when it came out, and its theatrical Mugen Train movie was a box office hit . Now as that season’s being nominated for awards in the anime community, studio Ufotable and Aniplex setting the stage for Tanjiro and friends’ next adventure.

Just before the weekend started, Aniplex released a new preview highlighting the primary villains of season three’s “Swordsmith Arc.” The trailer focuses on a group of demons known as the Upper Moons, who make up the most important half of the Twelve Kizuki, a group of demons who serve the demon king (and chief antagonist) Muzan Kibutsuji. During the previous season, Kizuki members Daki and Gyutaro were killed by Tanjiro and the other Demon Slayers, which caught the attention of the remaining Kizuki. In addition to the now dead siblings, the trailer highlights of the Upper Moons—Akaza, Gyokko, Hantengu, Kokushibo, and Doma.

Along with the Kizuku trailer above, Aniplex put out another trailer that featured some glimpses of the new season. But the main thing about that trailer is that the “Swordsmith Village” arc’s opening will be done by J-rock band Man With a Mission and singer Milet. Both of them have had their songs used for anime in the past; Mission’s “Raise Your Flag” and “Merry Go Round” were respectively used in Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans and My Hero Academia’s second season five arc. As for Milet, her songs “Prover” and “Drown” were respectively used for Fate/Grand Order – Absolute Demonic Front: Babylonia and Vinland Saga . In fact, Mission’s own “Dark Crow” was the opening for the Vinland arc her song plays during the closing.

Demon Slayer’s third season will premiere on Crunchyroll in April. But for those living in Los Angeles, the first episode of the season will premiere at the Orpheum Theater on February 18.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel , Star Wars , and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV , and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who .

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2022 did not pan out the way Ford was expecting it to at all, Elon Musk’s trial over a tweet is drawing to an end, The Morning Shift for February 3, 2023.

1st Gear: Not a Great One for Ford

The Dearborn-based manufacturer posted its fourth-quarter earnings on Thursday 89 percent lower Wall Street Journal :

Fourth-quarter revenue increased 16.7% to $44 billion, largely benefiting from buyers continuing to splurge on its vehicles as a lack of dealership inventory has led manufacturers to dial back discounts and prioritize pricier pickup trucks and SUVs.

Ford, in October, said it was on track to meet the lower end of its yearly guidance of between $11.5 billion and $12.5 billion in pretax operating profit. But executives say parts shortages, particularly on semiconductors, and other challenges getting vehicles into the hands of customers, led it to fall short of the earlier projection. It posted $10.4 billion in adjusted pretax earnings for 2022.

The car company was also hit with higher-than-anticipated supply-chain costs and elevated expenses related to problems with vehicle quality, executives said Thursday.

This quote from CEO Jim Farley, via Automotive News , is particularly eye-opening

“To say I’m frustrated is an understatement because the year could have been so much more for us at Ford,” Farley said on an earnings call with analysts late Thursday. “We have deeply entrenched issues in our industrial system that have proven tough to root out. Candidly, the strength of our products and revenue has masked this dysfunctionality for a long time.”

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According to Ford’s Chief Financial Officer, John Lawler, trouble stocking up semiconductors was the primary reason the company underperformed relative to its guidance. Other automakers — General Motors notably being one — have suggested that the industry has turned a corner, and chips are beginning to flow again. But it appears Ford is still stuck in 2021. I’m sure all those recalls didn’t help either. From the Journal :

“I know there’s been a lot of discussion about, ‘Well, the chip supply issue is over,’ ” Mr. Lawler said. “But on the larger, older nodes that are primarily the chips we use in the auto industry, there are still capacity constraints.”

He also said the car company’s cost-structure needs to be streamlined. Mr. Lawler estimated that for every dollar Ford spends, there is 25% to 30% inefficiency, and that Ford is focused on improving productivity this year.

So Ford looks on to 2023, where the company expects it’ll end the year with between $9 billion and $11 billion in pretax operating profit. Improving quality is another “top priority,” according to Farley, but the hard truth is that it’ll probably take years before that renewed focus bears out.

2nd Gear: Tweet Trial to Terminate

It’s been a quick three weeks, but the trial over Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s tweets about securing funding to take the EV maker private in 2018 is finally drawing to an end. Closing arguments are expected to be heard today, and it’ll all come down to the verdict from a jury of nine. From Reuters :

During the three-week trial, jurors heard testimony from witnesses including Tesla directors, Musk’s financi

Musk testified funding was not an issue when he sent the tweets. He said he had lined up financing, including a verbal commitment from Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund, and could have used his stake in SpaceX to fund the deal.

But Musk admitted on the stand that he lacked specific commitments from potential backers.

The defense team, which also is expected to make closing arguments on Friday, has acknowledged the tweets contained “technical inaccuracies,” but said Musk was focused on making sure small shareholders had the same information as large investors who knew about the potential buyout.

I like that the defense’s argument pretty much appears to boil down to “Elon’s just an extra good communicator.” He’s so good, sometimes he communicates things that aren’t fact yet. Think of it like an early warning.

3rd Gear: Also, Tesla’s Cutting Prices in South Korea Again

Tesla slashed prices across its range in South Korea last month, and it appears the automaker has decided on a second round of cuts. Per Reuters :

The price of the basic Model 3 rear-wheel drive vehicle was listed as 59.9 million won ($48,728.50) on the company’s website on Friday, down more than 5% from a month earlier.

Its Model Y Performance sports utility vehicle was 82.69 million won ($66,075.27), down nearly 13% from the January listing price of 94.73 million won ($76,333.06).

The price cuts differed from model to model but ranged from about 3.5 million won ($2,820.29) to 12.6 million won ($10,153.03).

[…]

Reuters reported on Wednesday that Tesla plans to step up output at its Shanghai plant over the next two months to meet demand ignited by aggressive price cuts on its best-selling models.

There are differing reports as to the validity of Reuters’ claim that Tesla intends to accelerate production at its Shanghai plant as a response to increased demand from lower prices, but how else was this exactly supposed to end? Shanghai can probably handle it — it’s been the brand’s most prolific site by far — but really, this just seems like Tesla’s reached the “find out” stage of its own fucking around.

4th Gear: Honda and Acura Dealers Are Going to Hate Afeela

Not just the name, either. If Sony and Honda’s strategy bears out, Afeela’s EVs won’t only be sold online — they’ll be serviced outside Honda’s network. From Automotive News :

In the U.S., the new EV venture may also look to brands outside the Honda and Acura dealer networks — including retailers from rival automakers.

“Not only Honda dealers. There may be several opportunities,” Yasuhide Mizuno, CEO of Sony Honda Mobility Inc., said about plans for Afeela’s critical after-sales network.

“It might be that is the best way for the customer,” he said.

And here’s what the chairman of the automaker’s U.S. dealer advisory board has to say about that:

Many Honda and Acura dealers assumed they would at least serve as the official customer-facing part of the equation, delivering the Sony-Honda EVs, servicing them and communicating with owners about Honda’s other products.

Bill Feinstein, chairman of the Honda National Dealer Advisory Board, was surprised to learn otherwise.

He told Automotive News dealers had not been advised that the Sony venture will work through other networks. But he had previously voiced worry the new brand could possibly compete with existing Honda dealerships.

“Unfortunately, there has been a lot of speculation and rumor regarding the Afeela product,” Feinstein said. “What I do know is that Honda dealers strongly believe that products designed and/or produced by Honda should be sold by Honda dealers.”

The problem, of course, is that Honda considers Afeela something else , and its dealers very much don’t , because they are hungry for product. “The customer might feel this is Honda’s company or maybe this is Sony’s company,” Yasuhide Mizuno, Sony Honda Mobility CEO told the publication. “But basically, Honda Motor is completely segregated from Sony-Honda.” So there, I guess.

5th Gear: VinFast Is Waiting for a Software Update

If you are waiting on your new VinFast this story and 2) apparently the delay is due to new software being flashed on every single U.S.-bound Automotive News :

Vietnam’s electric automaker VinFast said on Friday it will delay deliveries to its first U.S. customers to the second half of February after it finishes updating the vehicles with the latest software.

The Vietnamese company, a unit of conglomerate Vingroup, is gearing up to expand in the U.S., where it hopes to compete with existing automakers.

It started to ship its first 999 EVs in November, but has not delivered them to customers yet after the company initially targeted December deliveries.

“The cars have been updated with the latest software. We are planning to hand over the first VF8 vehicle models to customers in the second half of February,” VinFast said in a statement.

“The second batch will be shipped to the U.S. in the second quarter of 2023,” the statement said, without specifying the size of the lot.

Of course, you very much should read Kevin Williams’ incredible piece , it’s my favorite thing we published all of last year. Either way, if VinFast sticks to its plan to begin U.S. deliveries at the end of this month, those very ambitious visions of growth are about to be tested. The company has already lopped $6,500 off the price of the VF8 City Edition.

Reverse: Eileen Collins Makes History

On this day in 1995, 28 years ago, Eileen Collins became the first woman to pilot a space shuttle, “flying the Discovery to the Russian Mir space station,” per the National Archives Pieces of History collection .

Neutral: This Ford and Red Bull Thing Is Weird

Yes, I know Ford supplied engines to Formula 1 teams for a good while. I also know the Jaguar F1 Team eventually morphed into Red Bull, which of course gives some weird cyclical tint to this whole thing. But Red Bull and Ford is a weird pairing, especially while Honda remains on the car. I guess we’ll have time to get used to it; besides, it’s not like there isn’t precedent for the two names coming together in the world of motorsport. I have to wonder what Porsche’s thinking right now .