Object

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

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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