Tabloid Truths

The National Enquirer reported in October 2007 that presidential candidate John Edwards had an affair with a woman he met in a bar. By December, the tabloid reported that the woman was Rielle Hunter — who had made campaign films for Edwards — and that she was pregnant. After Enquirer staffers caught Edwards visiting Hunter at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in July, other news organizations began to take the story seriously. Weeks later, the Enquirer published a blurry "spy photo" purporting to show Edwards holding Hunter's newborn. Two days later, he admitted on national television that he did have an affair with Hunter but claimed he was not the father of her child.