Because politics in 2017 is arguing for several days about a single video, we’re going to feed the beast just a teeny bit longer.
You might recall that the biggest story of this week was Trump – the President of the United States – posting an edited WWE video of himself clotheslining someone with a CNN logo for a head. This is because of all the media institutions Trump considers ‘fake news’, CNN is his most loathed.
#FraudNewsCNN #FNN pic.twitter.com/WYUnHjjUjg
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 2, 2017
Then it was revealed that the original source of the video was a user on Reddit with the charming nom-de-plume of HansAssholeSolo – who had a pretty dodgy post history full of overt racism and anti-Semitism. No proof was ever provided that Trump actually got the video from HansAssholeSolo and not some other secondary source, but regardless it isn’t a great look.
But then it gets much, much weirder. HansAssholeSolo himself, who had begun deleting his post history as soon as the media caught wind of it, eventually issued an apology for his post history, basically claiming he was trolling and that he is “in no way this kind of person”.
Fine. Whatever. But then it got stranger – CNN ran an article by journo Andrew Kaczynski about how they managed to identify HansAssholeSolo by information in his Reddit history. It featured this passage:
After posting his apology, “HanA**holeSolo” called CNN’s KFile and confirmed his identity. In the interview, “HanA**holeSolo” 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 “HanA**holeSolo’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.
(I have kept CNN’s censorship of the word ‘ass’ because it’s funny to me.)
That last sentence made people do a bit of a double-take. It sure sounds a lot like blackmail – like CNN would publish this private citizen’s information if they didn’t think he was sufficiently apologetic. Right-wing media went absolutely nuts with this.
CNN essentially blackmailed a private citizen because he made fun of CNN.
Let that sink in.#CNNBlackmailhttps://t.co/lNxosMyENT
— Paul Joseph Watson (@PrisonPlanet) July 5, 2017
Even lefties were a little uncomfortable. Yes, it was clear HansAssholeSolo had made some reprehensible, shameful posts, but internet justice is rarely equitable. CNN publishing his personal info could be a disproportionate response from a very powerful corporate entity, and could lead to some unpleasant and unintended outcomes.
Of course, as always, it seems like in the bloodlust a lot of incorrect facts were being shared. Kaczynski took to Twitter to shoot down a rumour that HansAssholeSolo was just a teenaged kid – something which even Trump’s son (not particularly known for his fact-checking nous, to be fair) spread:
So I guess they weren’t effective threatening the admin so they go after & bully a 15 y/o? Seems in line w their “standards” #CNNBlackmail https://t.co/u8YmNnLonj
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) July 5, 2017
Kaczynski clarified in a tweet that HansAssholeSolo is actually a middle-aged man. Which kind of makes his racist Reddit trolling even more pathetic, but you know.
Need to point out again HanAssholeSolo is a middle aged man. People claiming he’s 15 are wrong. Some are intentionally spreading this.
— andrew kaczynski ?? (@KFILE) July 5, 2017
Now CNN have issued a statement about the whole kerfuffle, standing by their story and claiming that those who interpreted their comments as ‘blackmail’ are not correct.
CNN decided not to publish the name of the Reddit user out of concern for his safety. Any assertion that the network blackmailed or coerced him is false. The user, who is an adult male, not a 15-year-old boy, apologised and deleted his account before ever speaking with our reporter.
Well there you go. 2017 is, without any question, the most insanely stupid time to be alive.
Source: CNN.
Photo: Reddit.
