Online Hoax Headline (Website)

A fleeting, intangible webpage: a short, punchy headline and anecdotal post that reads like a rumor or hoax rather than a verified report. It lacks physical form — no printout is shown — but registers audibly and rhetorically in the hallway as Hoynes summons it, the words functioning like a thrown-down gauntlet. Reporters react to the mention (some with dismissal, others with guarded curiosity); Hoynes weaponizes the site as comic relief to deflect and trivialize a serious inquiry.

2 appearances

Purpose

Serve as a public-facing online post or headline that disseminates unverified claims; here it operates practically as an anecdotal prop/website used to deflect reporters and reframe a line of questioning.

Significance

Functions as a rhetorical device and plot catalyst: Hoynes invokes the online hoax to minimize perceived wrongdoing, intimidate the press, and shut down scrutiny in the moment, thereby deepening private suspicion and escalating the leak storyline.

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

2 moments

S1E8 · Enemies

Hoynes Deflects Leak with Dark Humor

The online hoax headline (the website) is invoked verbally by Hoynes as a rhetorical prop: he recounts the hoax story to trivialize the Internet's impact and to reposition the press inquiry as chasing fads rather than serious leaks.

Before: An intangible, circulating online item — public but largely unvetted and operating as an ephemeral rumor.

After: Referenced publicly as a dismissive talking point; rhetorically elevated into evidence that the Internet can mislead, thereby deflecting the press line of inquiry.

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S1E8 · Enemies

Hoynes' Dark Deflection

The Online Hoax Headline functions as Hoynes' rhetorical prop: he invokes a fictionalized website post to trivialize the significance of rapid Internet-driven market anomalies, using it to pivot the conversation away from the Cabinet leak and to mock the idea that media cycles should automatically be trusted.

Before: Unspoken but present as an idea in Hoynes' prepared anecdote; not physically present.

After: Remains a referenced rhetorical device; the reporters have heard the anecdote and the 'site' exists now as part of the public exchange but no physical evidence is produced.

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