Why do a majority of Americans distrust the mainstream media?
This (from the Daily Caller) could be one reason:
CNN sparked a backlash Tuesday night after threatening to identify the Reddit user who claimed to have created a meme of Donald Trump body-slamming the CNN logo that the president later shared on Twitter.
CNN targeted Reddit user HanAssholeSolo because he took credit for the video and apparently had a history of making racist and anti-Semitic remarks online.
CNN reporter Andrew Kaczynski opted not to identify the user “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.”
But Kaczynski then added that “CNN reserves the right to publish his identity should any of that change"….
As Twitchy's Sam J. put it: "Media or Mafia?"
Kaczynski's report, posted at 9:55 p.m. on Tuesday, does sound….creepy:
Reddit user "HanA**holeSolo" first shared the GIF last Wednesday of Trump pummeling a wrestler with CNN's logo imposed on his face. CNN could find no earlier instance of the GIF. The GIF was later edited into a video with sound and tweeted by the President on Sunday.
On Reddit, "HanA**holeSolo" took credit for inspiring the tweet. Soon after, "HanA**holeSolo's" other posts on Reddit, some of which included racist and anti-Semitic imagery, quickly circulated on social media….
On Monday, KFile attempted to contact the man by email and phone but he did not respond. On Tuesday, "HanA**holeSolo" posted his apology on the subreddit /The_Donald and deleted all of his other posts…
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.
Kind of reminds you of the dead prostitute scene in Godfather II, doesn't it? I'm willing to bet that HanA**holeSolo is under 25 years old and lives with his mom and dad. There is something downright off-putting about the major media conglomerate that controls all the televisions at the airports wringing a cringing apology from someone whose crime was to make fun of a major media conglomerate that controls all the televisions at the airports. One of the objectors to Kaczynski's blackmail-ish verbal thuggery, the Daily Caller reports, was German Lopez, a reporter for the famously liberal website Vox:
"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.”
And when you've lost Vox…. No wonder American trust in the media is at an all-time low.