CNN and Andrew Kaczynski, head of the network’s Republican oppo research unit “KFILE,” gave a misleading defense after receiving an intense backlash to a Sunday night post boasting that he had tracked down and identified a man who claimed credit for a gif shared by President Donald Trump — and that CNN may reveal his identity if the man chooses to “repeat this ugly behavior.”
Reddit user “u/HanAssholeSolo” posted an apology to CNN and journalists at the raucous pro-Trump subreddit “r/The_Donald” earlier in the evening, saying he did not create the specific WWE-themed video that Trump tweeted. Kaczynski, in a story titled “How CNN found the Reddit user behind the Trump wrestling GIF,” revealed that this individual posted the apology after the CNN reporter had discovered his identity and sent him an email asking to talk.
Dozens of celebrities, commentators, politicians, and journalists criticized the network, all across the political spectrum — from Donald Trump Jr. to YouTuber Philip DeFrancoto WikiLeaks to anti-Gamergate stalwart Brianna Wu. The hashtag #CNNBlackmail became the number one trending topic on Twitter, with many critics calling the sentence about CNN “reserving the right” to release the man’s name as a “threat” to “dox” him.
CNN violating Commandment 1 of the internet "thou shalt not dox". @KFILE, I was sympathetic. Bad move #CNNBlackmailedition.cnn.com/2017/07/04/pol…
@ttabatabai8 @KFILE obtaining someone's IRL name whether published or not to extract obvious unoriginal apology describing sources/methods snds like dox to me.
This line is being misinterpreted. It was intended only to mean we made no agreement w/the man about his identity. twitter.com/mathewi/status…
@KFILE Bullshit. It flat out states his behavior is contingent on whether or not you dox him.
For those out of the loop, CNN reporter @KFile threatened to doxx the Reddit user who made the WWF gif and demanded an apology. Not news.
@KFILE Either doxx him or don't. But don't threaten to do it to blackmail him into certain behavior. That's way out of line. #CNNBlackmail
Problem is the internet is not proportional. This person was a jerk, sure, but revealing his ID would lead to death threats, job risks, etc.
I can't emphasize how bad this is on CNN's part. This is basically "don't post stuff we don't like or we'll dox you." Extremely unethical. pic.twitter.com/5bJZIZasH0
This line is being misinterpreted. It was intended only to mean we made no agreement w/the man about his identity. twitter.com/mathewi/status…
CNN specifically choose not to reveal this guy's identity and to say we threatened anyone is a total lie.twitter.com/Cernovich/stat…
@KFILE @SilencingTrees Sorry, it's difficult to believe this isn't a threat.
Dumb GIF or not, this isn't really acceptable from a news outlet. pic.twitter.com/JJVBb4s4Mq
@jason_pontin @CathyYoung63 @KFILE "If you ever post again, we'll expose your identity" is a threat. Hate to break that to you.
Kaczynski distanced himself from the proverbial scalp, saying that the man “posted his apology before we *ever* spoke [to] him.”
CNN specifically choose not to reveal this guy's identity and to say we threatened anyone is a total lie.twitter.com/Cernovich/stat…
CNN specifically choose not to reveal this guy's identity and to say we threatened anyone is a total lie.twitter.com/Cernovich/stat…
"HanAssholeSolo" posted his apology before we *ever* spoke him. He called us afterwards to apologize further. cnn.com/2017/07/04/pol…
However, Kaczynski and his colleagues appeared to take credit for the apology before the story backfired.
This apology came after CNN identified and reached out to HanAssholeSolo. Story and interview w/him posting soon twitter.com/walldo/status/…
This apology came after @KFILE identified the man behind the account and attempted to make contact w/him cnn.com/2017/07/04/pol… twitter.com/walldo/status/…
.@KFILE tracked down the Reddit user behind the Trump wrestling GIF. Now he’s apologizing. cnn.com/2017/07/04/pol…
Pressed on the apparent contradiction, Kaczynski clarified that his use of “spoke” should only be understood as literal speaking — not that the apology came before CNN ever communicated with the man.
@KFILE Before you spoke to him or before you reached out to him?
@CathyYoung63 After I emailed asking only to speak with him.
A representative for CNN did not respond to clarify whether the man, according to Kaczynski, “called us to apologize further” after the story was published with the language that many readers perceived as a threat.
The network released a statement echoing Kaczynski’s defense, saying that the man “apologized and deleted his account before ever speaking with our reporter.” The statement does not admit that the man likely knew he had been identified by a CNN reporter — and could potentially be outed — before he wrote his apology.
Conservative critics pounced on the discrepancy in Kaczynski’s tweets, accusing him of “lying” about the timeline of the apology.
Still others pointed to CNN producer Donie O’Sullivan seemingly celebrating Kaczynski’s piece and New Day anchor Chris Cuomo asking if the network should publish the man’s identity — claiming that their language suggested a company-wide intent to intimidate or punish the Reddit user.
This is great reporting by KFILE. Horrible, racist keyboard warriors change tune once identified.
twitter.com/kfile/status/8…
It's being said that Solo's apology was out of character, that he was initially really happy Trump shared his work pic.twitter.com/fBkrhj8nqX
Although nobody archived the threat against Solo by @ChrisCuomo - we can confirm it exists thanks to @iowahawkblogtwitter.com/iowahawkblog/s… pic.twitter.com/mO3vxTsFjR
The network is under fire as critics assert that Kaczynski failed to establish the newsworthiness of the story. The network’s statement does not answer this concern, and representatives for CNN have not responded to a request for comment at the time of this publication.
I have a lot of feelings about this CNN thing. Firstly -- you have no right to anonymity on the internet. If you wanna be anon, cover yr ass
If you think the Reddit guy's name is newsworthy, publish it. If it's not, don't.
Holding future behavior over his head is #CNNBlackmail.
O’Sullivan retweeted a post from the New York Times‘ Maggie Haberman asserting that the “real story” in this saga is how Trump’s social media team is providing “hate memes” for the president to share.
Yes. And been a story at least since the Star of David tweet a year ago almost to the day twitter.com/sethamandel/st…
Kaczynski’s post was only the latest part of a campaign by the network to attack “HanAssholeSolo” and to tarnish Trump supporters (and the president himself) by association. Breitbart’s Tony Lee wrote:
Outlets like CNN searched the user’s posting history and tried to make the case that the wrestling meme may be “racist” and “anti-semitic.” A White House official told media outlets that the video Trump tweeted was not pulled from Reddit. The reporter (Jared Yates Sexton) who first revealed the Reddit user’s racist postings said he received death threats after he published his findings before promptly blaming Trump for the “hateful environment.”“This environment is the creation of the man in the White House,” he tweeted.The Reddit user apologized to the reddit community and for previous posts that were admittedly “racist, bigoted, and [anti-semitic].”“HanAssholeSolo” also said the post was “in no way advocating” violence “in any way, shape or form” and emphasized that the original post is not what ended up on Trump’s Twitter feed.
At the time of this writing, the article is not featured on the page for Kaczynski’s “KFILE” vertical.
What the Hell is all this? I need a vacation.
ReplyDeleteIt's CNN getting their asses kicked on Twitter...
ReplyDeleteOh! I will read it , but wait for others to explain it to me later, damn it is hot out, damn global warming anyhow.
DeleteLast I read, the "man" in question is a 15 year old kid. Do you know if this is true?
ReplyDeleteNo idea but I heard the same thing...
ReplyDeleteIf it is true, I would think threatening or bullying a minor, would create some significant legal headaches for them.
DeleteI'd love seeing Jeff Zucker being forced to resign...
ReplyDeleteEpoch times is a politically neutral news source.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/2264915-cnn-reeling-after-reddit-user-threat-blossoming-backlash-derailing-reputation/
Sooner or later everything built on a foundation of lies comes crashing down...
ReplyDeleteAnd Roger, thanks for stopping by...
ReplyDeleteIs that the Rodger that left his chair out at the Summit?
DeleteNo. I did want to go and meet some of the people who participate in Kevin's blog but other things came up that weekend. I used to post under Roger11 on cjonline. I am Roger Broeg on Kevin's friend list on facebook.
DeleteThanks Roger, I have his chair so I will keep on waiting to get it back to him, I am only charging him 10 cents a day storage. Lol
DeleteCNN ...maybe the FCC will look into this.
ReplyDeleteJust another day in post-constitutional modern America...ppppfffttttt!!
I assure you, the decision to dox is a serious one.
ReplyDeleteIt's a Pandora box.
You do it,you had better be prepared.
I wouldn't recommend threatening it, either.
It should be reserved for smug, pretentious assholes who think they are better, but their own behavior would prove differently. People who try to care about women, and yet frequent certain adult sites, if you catch my drift....
CNN would only threaten, anyway.
There are whole sites and "channels" dedicated to this tactical application of the Internet and social media.
CNN would dare opening the "box" and get all their fake media accounts and personalities exposed.
CNN is still reeling from the collusion crap.
And they know it.
And props to HanAssholeSolo.
There are more of him.
Trust me.
And good for you to be hip to twitter Kevin.
It's another fascinating place were battles are fought....
Indeed it is...
ReplyDeleteIs there a time limit between comments on this blog?
ReplyDeleteDo you suppose if this GIF was posted anonymously on Twitter was that of Trumps head being cut off we would see this behavior of wanting to "out" the specific identity of the poster?
ReplyDeleteNo way in hell.
Freedom of expression they'd scream...
But I suppose when the president has beaten the hell out of ya, you'd be mad at at your face being rubbed in it.
It's the procrustean bed they have made,and now they have to lie in it.
Legs chopped or not.
CNN should of just rolled with it.
Instead they possibly just blackmailed a teenager for being a troll.
The most noblest stance they could of taken.
The proverbial "high road" you might say.
Zerohedge reporting too and 4chan has started something called "autist (sp) war" or some such on them....plus a growing list of online sites too numerous to list. People are a tad upset, I would say. Nothing says "backlash" like pissed off Americans who have had it with the phony double-standardized bull hockey.
ReplyDeleteHigh-larious!
Cats just referenced the "chans"...
ReplyDeleteShe knows not how much that makes me smile.......
Atta girl...
Whitefishes for you and kitties.
And yes, cats.
DeleteDon't ever piss off dudes that can find the location of a flying flag based off a live feed camera that shows the flag and the sky only. These people will use the stars, clouds, contrails, and what ever means necessary to find you.
They are relentless....
Many of them have a lot of knowledge about a lot of things...one reason I enjoy reading them.
DeleteAlso if you see a commenter calling himself "dune creature" on the zh site take time to read his posts. He doesnt post often but good insights and dots. He's got more knowledge than most on deep state crap.
Tanks hammer!! Are staf reeds all kinsa stufs never no wat shee mite fine ...
ReplyDeleteAlso Cruz weighed in earlier, saying the Crapweasel Narrative Network might be in legal trouble over that threat...lol.
An wee luvs witefish!!!
That's better boys and girls. :)
ReplyDeleteWhy, thank you, Sarge!🍺 we get busy looking up stuff to share...
DeleteI love it Cats it saves me a lot of time which I need at my age.
DeleteYou gotta love that 4chan bunch.
ReplyDeleteWell, unless they're pissed off at you...
Lol...would not wish to earn their ire...
DeleteFacebook is crammed full of new GIFS mocking CNN.
ReplyDelete#Lovingeveryninuteofit...
Twitter is too...looked at their public feeds and saw that Dinesh D'Sousa even gave them hell.
DeleteBed time thought to everyone always remember you came in this world with nothing and you leave this world with nothing, I really be leave that was Gods plan. Good night.
ReplyDeleteSarge you likely won't see this till morning so hoping you had a good night's sleep!
ReplyDeleteThanks seen it first thing.
DeleteTesting 1,2,3....
ReplyDeleteReally starting to hate "technology". Finally, my stupid phone lets me back in!
ReplyDeleteAnd "machines", too! Like...vehicles!
Something as simple as a couple screwed-up exhaust manifold studs? $800 to repair?! 😠
Well...that's the low estimate, anyway. Until, with my luck... "Well, we had to (do whatever) also, and that added $290 to your bill!"
Ran into a Patriot compatriot down at the muffler shop yesterday. I think you all may know him. He used to host the most-successful blog over at the Pravda-Urinal, until they decided to go full-on Commie-Propaganda/silence-the-opposition Fake News route.
Anyway...access back, now, on here, on phone. (Was doing a bunch of shit to try to get that shitty Facebook to try to work properly. None of it fixed it, but it screwed up a few other things. I think that scrawny socialist, Zuck, probably has a way of screwing with people who post conservative stuff...just to piss us off!)
Urinal staff has thrill running down their legs about this:
ReplyDelete"Lawyer group files federal complaint against Kobach"
"The complaint by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law claims Kobach violated the Hatch Act by promoting his work as vice chair of President Donald Trump’s election integrity commission in appearances and on websites related to his gubernatorial campaign."
"The Hatch Act prohibits government employees from using their positions to influence elections."
First of all, does any politician currently employed, and campaigning, ever list or mention anything in their "resume" to campaign on? Pretty sure they ALL do!
Secondly, "prohibits government employees from using their positions to influence elections"?
I guess we should charge nearly everyone in Congress, and Vice Presidents, and Presidents, with violating "the Hatch Act", if they say anything in support of a candidate, OR in opposition of a candidate? Any member of Congress who spoke supporting Hillary should be charged. They are CLEARLY "using their positions to influence elections"! Go get'em! Get'em ALL!!!
Finally, those things they say Kobach mentions are absolutely hated by the left. He is out there drumming-up his own opposition issues. Why would they even want him to stop?! How STUPID are they?!
Oh...and let's hope that absolutely no person employed by the government chimes in on THIS issue, or on Kobach's campaign...at all. You know what that would be?
It would be "using their positions to influence elections". Which is violation of the Hatch Act.
Go ahead, you lib morons. Open up that can, and let's shake it out!
"Shawnee County considering raises for 12 department heads Thursday"
ReplyDeleteSure doesn't look like most of them are hurting in the "pay area". By all means...let's hit up the hard-working, already-struggling private-sector taxpayers for even more.
I mean...how can anyone be expected to live on ONLY $70,000-$100,000+/yr (plus taxpayer-supported benefits)?!
I wonder if they are on food stamps?
ReplyDeleteNew blog up and running...
ReplyDelete