CNN blackmailing Trump wrestling GIF creator?

[BigRedBuster]

Of course right now we can look at conservative outlets and claim THEY are the problem because right now the ARE the biggest problem.

But, liberal groups and people have their outlets that do the same thing.

Look at the propaganda that Micheal Moore movies put out that liberals just lapped up. I remember literally having conversations with people who believed Bush planned 9/11 and his father threw a party in Manhattan to watch it happen after watching that movie.

 

To claim this isn't a problem on their side is being disingenuous.

[Red Five]

Has anyone on here ever visited 'The Donald' reddit page?

 

"You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy" fits it well.

[knapplc]

Has anyone on here ever visited 'The Donald' reddit page?

 

"You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy" fits it well.

 

I have, and I am just *perplexed* why that subreddit would be so vile. It's a mystery!

[Enhance]

I'm really not sure how CNN is being slung in the mud for this.

 

This troll put this GIF out to the public behind an anonymous face on the internet. It promotes violence towards the media. The whole thing blows up. CNN then does an investigation to try to figure out who used THEIR LOGO in something like this. They then make the decision to not publish his name.

 

CNN basically showed they can track down people who do this. It will prevent some from doing it again (especially this guy).

 

I'm failing to see how CNN is the bad guy in this.

I think making CNN out to be the bad guy here fits the opinion/narrative of those who found the gif entertaining or those who have personal grudges against the media (particularly media outlets with a moderate or liberal lean).

 

I'm sure there are people out there thinking this: Trump tweeted out a harmless gif that CNN then blew way out of proportion and they're now blackmailing the poor guy who was just trying to have some fun.

 

Personally, do I think this gif is going to incite any one person to commit violence against a media member? Probably not. But, it does further substantiate and build the narrative that the media are bad guys and deserve harsh treatment. It's only so long before these types of message drive someone to do something irrational, at least, that's my opinion.

[Danny Bateman]

I'd agree with the take that in a vacuum, this isn't a big deal at all. It's just a gif not unlike one you could find anywhere else on the internet. But the context matters.

- The dude who made the tweet was also responsible for loads of other anti-Semitic stuff vis a vis his Reddit account

 

- The President of the United States retweeted said gif, indicating his social media staff spend time combing through Reddit. They've done this in the past (ripped anti-Semitic Clinton picture from Reddit).

 

- The same president who's been openly hostile and extremely degrading towards the media.

 

- The dude was the one who reached out to CNN, not vice-versa. This indicates he was worried about whatever he's put on Reddit and elsewhere being traced back to him IRL. So far, I haven't seen any evidence CNN blackmailed him so to say they caused all this by doing so is rather conspiratorial.

 

Again, the issue isn't proportional to the amount of run this has gotten, but context matters.

[Enhance]

Well said, dudeguyy.

 

As a side note, I find it humorous this guy is so worried and embarrassed by the things he's said/done.

 

I am in no way this kind of person, I love and accept people of all walks of life and have done so for my entire life.

 

bullsh#t.

[Nebfanatic]

After reading through this thread and gathering more information on the story, I take back my original post and do think CNN has done what was in their best interest. But man what a strange time to be alive when a huge media outlet has to respond to the creator of a gif on the Internet.

[RedDenver]

Here is a great piece by Ken White of popehat (a 1st Amendment blog). I'm not going to post a snippet because you really need to read the whole thing to get all the context and nuance he's using: "CNN, Doxing, And A Few Ways In Which We Are Full of sh#t As A Political Culture"

[HuskermanMike]

I'd agree with the take that in a vacuum, this isn't a big deal at all. It's just a gif not unlike one you could find anywhere else on the internet. But the context matters.

 

- The dude who made the tweet was also responsible for loads of other anti-Semitic stuff vis a vis his Reddit account

 

- The President of the United States retweeted said gif, indicating his social media staff spend time combing through Reddit. They've done this in the past (ripped anti-Semitic Clinton picture from Reddit).

 

- The same president who's been openly hostile and extremely degrading towards the media.

 

- The dude was the one who reached out to CNN, not vice-versa. This indicates he was worried about whatever he's put on Reddit and elsewhere being traced back to him IRL. So far, I haven't seen any evidence CNN blackmailed him so to say they caused all this by doing so is rather conspiratorial.

 

Again, the issue isn't proportional to the amount of run this has gotten, but context matters.

My understanding is he reached out to them after he was contacted by email and phone but at the time did not respond. The K file knew who he was and if he did not respond, they would have released his name. Now they are holding it against him that if he posts anything that CNN disapproves of they will release his name to the public. This means they will be monitoring his reddit account to make sure he does not post anything CNN would not like. After this apology I doubt its that big of a deal, but it still is unfair to hold him hostage if he posts anything CNN disapproves of essentially. So if he takes a shot at DT, they wont do anything, but if he posts anything else that could be offensive or trolling they will release his name. It is kind of odd, but at the same time it is making them look silly over an internet meme. Like others have stated in this thread.

[BigRedBuster]

That article basically sums up what you see when you register as an independent and back and look.

[Danny Bateman]

That article is well-worth a read. I find it hard to disagree with anything he put. The section on our incoherent arguments for/against free speech is particularly on the mark.

 

Mike, I can see your point. That author highlighted the "threat" aspect of this as well. I do think there's room here to criticize CNN for their response, so long as we're all clear they are completely within their legal rights to publish this guy's identity and he's got no expectation of privacy if he was found out for his posts on social media. So it kind of devolves into an ethical discussion rather than a legal one.

I just have a hard time getting worked up about this. Some guy posted a dumb meme, got traced and immediately seemed to regret his decisions.

 

The underlying issue for me is, and has always been, Trump's completely intellectually dishonest treatment of the media. Are they free from criticism? Absolutely not.

 

Should we have a President who blindly calls anything that doesn't fluff him up and kiss the ring "Fake News" reflexively? Nope. But he does that to literally anything that criticizes him. And millions of people just go along and accept it as truth.

[Enhance]

Interesting perspective from a fairly tenured journalist turned professor.

 

[Danny Bateman]

Also, this kind of gets lost in the shuffle, but is rather disturbing:

 

[BigRedBuster]

Oh.....the vast armies of Internet tough guys.

 

[Enhance]

They make it sound like internet meme creators are a conglomerate of like-minded individuals.