CNN blackmails reddit user for making parody video of them

[Dan Druff]

CNN done screwed up.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/04/politi...eet/index.html

For some reason, they felt the need to identify and scare the person behind the "Trump beats up CNN" parody video.

You know... because the identity of some troll making a stupid parody wrestling video is super-important.

They did their internet detective work, and figured out who he was. Turned out it was some troll who went by "HanAssholeSolo", and they found out his real identity. They called him and e-mailed him, but he didn't respond. It's not known what content was in the e-mail or phone message, but HanAssholeSolo shit his pants and posted a detailed apology to Reddit.

He then called CNN, sounded very nervous, and they basically blackmailed him that he would need to be a good boy from now on, or they would identify him.

Don't believe me? Read this passage from CNN's own article, linked above:

After posting his apology, "HanAssholeSolo" called CNN's KFile and confirmed his identity. In the interview, "HanAssholeSolo" sounded nervous about his identity being revealed and asked to not be named out of fear for his personal safety and for the public embarrassment it would bring to him and his family.

CNN is not publishing "HanAssholeSolo's" name because he is a private citizen who has issued an extensive statement of apology, showed his remorse by saying he has taken down all his offending posts, and because he said he is not going to repeat this ugly behavior on social media again. In addition, he said his statement could serve as an example to others not to do the same.

CNN reserves the right to publish his identity should any of that change.

So CNN is identifying their online critic now and threatening to reveal their personal info if they don't shut up?

Sweet.

Tight news organization.

[Dan Druff]

[WillieMcFML]

the best part is reading media print his username: HansAssholeSolo

[Dan Druff]

Trump has caused CNN to self-destruct over the past year.

Prior to Trump winning the Republican primary, CNN was unfairly taking heat from conservatives for being biased. Nicknamed "Communist News Network", this mostly centrist network was unfairly derided for supposedly being heavily biased toward the left. In reality, they were only slightly biased, and I mostly respected them for their seeming neutrality.

When Trump was in the primary, they were giving him a ton of coverage, as were most of the mainstream news media, because that's where the ratings were.

However, once Trump WON the primary, and the reality set in that he might actually become President, CNN changed their tune. They became highly and obviously biased against him. While Trump was often his own worst enemy, CNN couldn't simply stick to reporting those facts. They had to attempt to twist the knife into him with every mistake and stupid thing he said. They became obsessed with making Trump look bad, and their "news stories" started to read more and more like left-wing op-ed pieces.

Since Trump was elected, it got even worse. They've basically dedicated most of their resources to attacking Trump. The articles about him contain many pejorative adjectives describing him, rather than simply reporting the facts of any given situation. It's become unreadable and obnoxious.

Now they've actually tilted their face off and went to go track down some reddit troll for (gasp) making a joke GIF/video about Trump wrestling them. Not only did they identify him, but they openly threatened him in their article claiming victory over him, stating that they will keep his identity a secret as long as he stays in line.

Shameful.

What a fall from grace.

Donald Trump has caused a 37-year-old, once-respected news agency to crash and burn upon itself.

[hongkonger]

They're only a media organization, why should they care about free speech?

[JimmyG_415]

Trump has caused CNN to self-destruct over the past year.

Shameful.

What a fall from grace.

Donald Trump has caused a 37-year-old, once-respected news agency to crash and burn upon itself.

The ratings are higher than ever, but ok.

LOL,
You avoid the facts,
listen to Trump's lies
and watch biased news coverage.
How it is legal to put the word 'news' behind those lies Fox tells you people is beyond me.

I don't watch CNN , because the people they have defending Trump are looney tunes.


02:38 PM ET
CNN HAS MOST-WATCHED SECOND QUARTER ON RECORD
http://cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com/20...ter-on-record/
The Lead with Jake Tapper Up +54%

The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer Up +63%

Erin Burnett Outfront Up +65%

Anderson Cooper 360 Up +52%

CNN Tonight with Don Lemon Up +52%

New Day Grows the Most in Cable News in the Morning, Up +77%

[gimmick]

He asked nicely not to be named. The CNN gif was the least of his worries. Also it didn't quite qualify as critique, anymore than the picture of CNN board members, employees ect. with David's stars.

He claims he was just trolling when he was using his god given right of free speech to describe killing cats, stabbing Muslims and other general musings about immigrants/Jews/gays.

[Dan Druff]

He asked nicely not to be named. The CNN gif was the least of his worries. Also it didn't quite qualify as critique, anymore than the picture of CNN board members, employees ect. with David's stars.

He claims he was just trolling when he was using his god given right of free speech to describe killing cats, stabbing Muslims and other general musings about immigrants/Jews/gays.

Yes, and how many thousands/millions of other trolls are out there on reddit are doing things like this?

Why is CNN trying to identify this one guy and ruin his life?

Oh... that's right... because he made a GIF of Trump body slamming CNN, and they bitterly decided to track down the GIF's creator and see what they coud blackmail him with.

Lo and behold, it turned out the guy posted a lot of ugly racist & anti-Semitic stuff, and would have his life ruined if his name were to get out, along with the stuff CNN found that he had been doing.

So the guy got all panicky, begged CNN to leave him alone, and CNN decided to act like an obnoxious parental figure, telling him, "Okay, you be a good boy, and we won't identify you."

Then CNN wrote a front-page, top-story article bragging about their victory over him.

You think that's professional behavior, befitting of a major news organization?

Do you believe CNN would have had an ounce of interest in him if Trump hadn't tweeted out that parody video?

If CNN has an issue with what Trump did, they should go after Trump. They shouldn't seek to ruin the life of a private citizen who made a harmless GIF (which Trump grabbed without permission, apparently). And they definitely shouldn't place conditions upon not identifying him -- basically telling him to be good, or else.

It's a very disturbing trend when a major media organization puts out the message, "You made fun of us, we dug dirt on you, and we're going to release it and ruin your life unless you're a good boy."

[gimmick]

He asked nicely not to be named. The CNN gif was the least of his worries. Also it didn't quite qualify as critique, anymore than the picture of CNN board members, employees ect. with David's stars.

He claims he was just trolling when he was using his god given right of free speech to describe killing cats, stabbing Muslims and other general musings about immigrants/Jews/gays.

Yes, and how many thousands/millions of other trolls are out there on reddit are doing things like this?

Why is CNN trying to identify this one guy and ruin his life?

Oh... that's right... because he made a GIF of Trump body slamming CNN, and they bitterly decided to track down the GIF's creator and see what they coud blackmail him with.

Lo and behold, it turned out the guy posted a lot of ugly racist & anti-Semitic stuff, and would have his life ruined if his name were to get out, along with the stuff CNN found that he had been doing.

So the guy got all panicky, begged CNN to leave him alone, and CNN decided to act like an obnoxious parental figure, telling him, "Okay, you be a good boy, and we won't identify you."

Then CNN wrote a front-page, top-story article bragging about their victory over him.

You think that's professional behavior, befitting of a major news organization?

Do you believe CNN would have had an ounce of interest in him if Trump hadn't tweeted out that parody video?

If CNN has an issue with what Trump did, they should go after Trump. They shouldn't seek to ruin the life of a private citizen who made a harmless GIF (which Trump grabbed without permission, apparently). And they definitely shouldn't place conditions upon not identifying him -- basically telling him to be good, or else.

It's a very disturbing trend when a major media organization puts out the message, "You made fun of us, we dug dirt on you, and we're going to release it and ruin your life unless you're a good boy."

Yea they didn't dig dirt on him. The guy wrote it all by himself to a public forum.

Oh the humanity that anyone would be held responsible for their own words.

And besides it's not like CNN was prowling in the vicinity of the guys section 8 housing project to expose him. That would be just silly. All they had was a phone call to interview him.

No blackmail, No critique, SAD.

[Dan Druff]

Yes, and how many thousands/millions of other trolls are out there on reddit are doing things like this?

Why is CNN trying to identify this one guy and ruin his life?

Oh... that's right... because he made a GIF of Trump body slamming CNN, and they bitterly decided to track down the GIF's creator and see what they coud blackmail him with.

Lo and behold, it turned out the guy posted a lot of ugly racist & anti-Semitic stuff, and would have his life ruined if his name were to get out, along with the stuff CNN found that he had been doing.

So the guy got all panicky, begged CNN to leave him alone, and CNN decided to act like an obnoxious parental figure, telling him, "Okay, you be a good boy, and we won't identify you."

Then CNN wrote a front-page, top-story article bragging about their victory over him.

You think that's professional behavior, befitting of a major news organization?

Do you believe CNN would have had an ounce of interest in him if Trump hadn't tweeted out that parody video?

If CNN has an issue with what Trump did, they should go after Trump. They shouldn't seek to ruin the life of a private citizen who made a harmless GIF (which Trump grabbed without permission, apparently). And they definitely shouldn't place conditions upon not identifying him -- basically telling him to be good, or else.

It's a very disturbing trend when a major media organization puts out the message, "You made fun of us, we dug dirt on you, and we're going to release it and ruin your life unless you're a good boy."

Yea they didn't dig dirt on him. The guy wrote it all by himself to a public forum.

Oh the humanity that anyone would be held responsible for their own words.

And besides it's not like CNN was prowling in the vicinity of the guys section 8 housing project to expose him. That would be just silly. All they had was a phone call to interview him.

No blackmail, No critique, SAD.

They did an extensive investigation which led them to his actual identity.

Then they contacted him, and apparently let him know they knew about both the GIF and his racist/anti-Semitic messages.

Knowing how fucked his life would be if this info got out (given the high public interest in the GIF), he panicked, apologized, and begged them not to identify him.

CNN then published a front-page, lead-story article bragging about how they identified him, and included a threat to reveal his identity if he doesn't behave going forward.

Explain how this is okay.

Explain WHY they researched this guy in the first place. Why did it even matter who made the GIF?

WHY did they release a front-page article gloating about finding him, and making it clear they'll only keep his identity secret if he stays in line?

This is a horrible look for a major news organization.

They're basically saying, "If you criticize us, we will unearth your skeletons, and you will be sorry."

And why was this front-page, top-story news?

"How CNN found an internet troll who made a GIF making fun of us!"

Yeah, nothing more important going on this planet today than that, huh?

And regarding the release of his identity, it should either be appropriate or inappropriate to do so, with no middle ground. If CNN feels the public should know who he is, they should release it. If they feel he's a private citizen and shouldn't deserve such a fate, then they shouldn't release it. There should be no blackmail/conditions put upon his future behavior. They aren't his parents, they aren't a judge, and they aren't his parole officer.

[Dan Druff]

[Dan Druff]

Embedded Tweet

https://twitter.com/twt/status/882438101087473664

Embedded Tweet

https://twitter.com/twt/status/882438606270410752

What a fucking snake.

[Dan Druff]

[FPS_Russia]

I can't believe CNN did that, this whole deal is weird.

Is CNN on team Trump or what.? Now Trump can claim he's the victim of a vast left wing media conspiracy for all his past present and future scandals. Plus the uninformed masses may actually think he's somewhat credible.

plus
There's a US aircraft carrier docked in Israel and a bunch of other out of the ordinary military equip. I know some of Hillary's people are now lobbying the Trump admin, including Podesta's sister in law. She just changed the name of her firm or whatever.

While members on this forum were discussing who'd win in a civil war, here's what was happening in the Hamptons.
REPORT: Jared, Ivanka, Conway, Dina Powell Spotted at Hamptons Party with Soros, Schumer, Fake News Journos

Sighted” at the party were Alan Patricof, a good friend and campaign contributor to Bill and Hillary Clinton, George Soros and his wife Tamiko Bolton, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and Steven Spielberg. Former Florida Governor and Senator Bob Graham, a Democrat, and Rep. Lee Zeldin, a Republican, also made the invite list.


But the party was apparently bi-partisan. Also sighted were Kellyanne Conway (on the dance floor), Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner, and Trump national security adviser Dina Powell.


And while Weymouth’s Washington Post is as left-wing as a news outlet can get, that didn’t keep NewsMax CEO Chris Ruddy from showing up, as did Boyden Gray.

[gimmick]

Yea they didn't dig dirt on him. The guy wrote it all by himself to a public forum.

Oh the humanity that anyone would be held responsible for their own words.

And besides it's not like CNN was prowling in the vicinity of the guys section 8 housing project to expose him. That would be just silly. All they had was a phone call to interview him.

No blackmail, No critique, SAD.

They did an extensive investigation which led them to his actual identity.

Then they contacted him, and apparently let him know they knew about both the GIF and his racist/anti-Semitic messages.

Knowing how fucked his life would be if this info got out (given the high public interest in the GIF), he panicked, apologized, and begged them not to identify him.

CNN then published a front-page, lead-story article bragging about how they identified him, and included a threat to reveal his identity if he doesn't behave going forward.

Explain how this is okay.

Explain WHY they researched this guy in the first place. Why did it even matter who made the GIF?

WHY did they release a front-page article gloating about finding him, and making it clear they'll only keep his identity secret if he stays in line?

This is a horrible look for a major news organization.

They're basically saying, "If you criticize us, we will unearth your skeletons, and you will be sorry."

And why was this front-page, top-story news?

"How CNN found an internet troll who made a GIF making fun of us!"

Yeah, nothing more important going on this planet today than that, huh?

And regarding the release of his identity, it should either be appropriate or inappropriate to do so, with no middle ground. If CNN feels the public should know who he is, they should release it. If they feel he's a private citizen and shouldn't deserve such a fate, then they shouldn't release it. There should be no blackmail/conditions put upon his future behavior. They aren't his parents, they aren't a judge, and they aren't his parole officer.

Yea with journalism there's this thing where if someone has some information regarding some piece of news they will contact them regarding an interview. This is a fairly common practice.

In this case they did just that.

And then the guy randomly panicked all on his own.

CNN didn't demand anything from him. CNN didn't make any agreement with him. The guy didn't lose anything off any value because of anything that CNN did. He destroyed the legacy of his shit posts all on his own. I don't think there's a single element of blackmail that exists in this case.

The guy didn't think he was threatened. The journalists doesn't think he threatened anyone when he made a mundane factual statement. Only ones are that seeing anything in this story are snowflakes.

Should i next explain the value of cute animal stories in the news? Or maybe how ratings work? Or maybe if we do the sane thing and strip the whole issue in to 2 easy to understand questions.

1. Did CNN do anything illegal? Fuck no!

2. Did CNN do anything unethical? Fuck no!

[RichardBrodiesCombover.]

When CNN gets attacked, they will punch back 10 times harder.

[DJ_Chaps]

can gimshit shill for CNN any harder? jfc

[devidee]

[devidee]

Soon...

[The_Lurker]

Compounding the allegation that the coercive contact CNN engaged in with the Redditor who created the meme is the revelation that the latter may in fact be a minor at]only 15 years old.



http://www.departmentofmemes.com/art...a-15-year-old/



I so hope this is true.