CNN has admitted that it has discovered the identity of a man who originally made the "Trump body-slams CNN" meme.
CNN personnel have contacted the man forcing him to apologize on Reddit using his pseudonym. However CNN remains committed to exposing the man's identity to the world should he retract his apology.
According to CNN,
"CNN reserves the right to publish his identity should any of that (his apology) change".CNN is behaving in the most irresponsible way possible for several reasons.
1. CNN could put the man's life in danger
CNN like others, found the man's Reddit content offensive. Apparently his other posts weren't as humorous as the wrestling meme with Trump.
So what! People have the right to be offensive without having their lives put in danger. Recently, Republican Congressman Steve Scalise was shot by a deranged liberal who claimed he was a big fan of many liberal CNN commentators.
Thus, there is a clear precedent for people to take CNN's virulently anti-Trump message and do something criminal, violent and possibly murderous as a result. It is fair to say that the shooing of Congressman Scalise was attempted murder.
If someone was deranged enough to attack a high profile figure, one could image the comparative ease with which they could attempt to harm a man who appears to be an ordinary private citizen, one who is clearly scared of being exposed.
2. CNN is engaging inblackmail
When a giant multi-million dollar corporation forces a private citizen to retract his statements online out of fear of having his true identity exposed, this is using bullying tactics in the service of blackmail.
CNN made this person an offer he couldn't refuse. Is CNN really just the liberal mafia now?
3. Fake journalism
If CNN was interested in real journalism, they could have conducted a full anonymous interview where the man who achieved 15 minutes of anonymous fame after Donald Trump shared his meme could explain his point of view.
A real journalist would have asked him how he became drawn to politics, how he developed his views, if he thought that humour has a place in politics. These are just some of the interesting questions that a real journalist would ask without making any threats or putting anyone's life in danger.
That would be real journalism. I would like to now issue an apology for implying that this is something CNN would be capable of.
It would seem that the world's greatest journalist and most accuratepublisher agrees
4. The damage may be done
Because CNN revealed how they found out the man's identity, many other copy cats may do the same and may take it upon themselves to make the man's name public, thus completing the piece of CNN's dirty, dangerous puzzle.
There would hardly be anyway to stop this.
While no CNN reporter's life can objectively be in danger because POTUS Tweeted a cartoon superimposed on a pro-wrestling video, a sport which admits it is FAKE, a spectacle designed as theatre rather than competitive sport, the same cannot be said of the man who made the video.
It is CNN who owes this man an apology for treating his life like as though it is less important than CNN's ratings.
CNN has behaved shamefully here and not for the first time.
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