CNN tracks down random reddit meme poster and threatens to release his information

Richard Hillman wrote: »

The mask is indeed slipping. It was never about uber liberal values, it was about controlling people. Same stuff happening in Europe, people desperate to control others and they found a way of doing it by using Faux Outrage.

I think you're reading too much into it. CNN are a for profit corporation. They don't care about controlling people they care about making a profit out of advertisers. We see all media outlets playing a holier than thou approach to news where they're the good media and everyone else is the bad media.

All news media whether it be CNN or breitbart are the same, they just come at it from different angles.

lifeandtimes wrote: »

Actually that is a very valid point that has been missed. He deleted everything and issued an apology before he contacted cnn,the fact the put it in is irrelevant

And cnn are saying no agreement was in fact made.

The order in which things happened is irrelevant. What matters is assuming that this person was threatened by cnn and going with that line.

hatrickpatrick wrote: »

It's a continuation of this that CNN are attempting to *enforce* by retaining the right to publish the dox depending on his future behaviour.

I agree, but it is not what you said earlier: an explicit attempt to change his behaviour.

Maybe you think the distinction isn't that important, but I actually do.

osarusan wrote: »

I agree, but it is not what you said earlier: an explicit attempt to change his behaviour.

Maybe you think the distinction isn't that important, but I actually do.

An explicit attempt to change / control his future behaviour, so - that work as a re-wording? Every bit as insidious in my view.

Boycott CNN.

And more importantly boycott those commercial entities who advertise with CNN

lifeandtimes wrote: »

Everyone is assuming he was threatened but there is no proof he was.

Everything up until this point is speculation based in his apology and the CNN statement added with him deleting eberything he has posted.

I'm too busy now to keep replying to this thread

The very statement "we reserve the right to publish if he doesn't change his behaviour" is in and of itself a threat, regardless of any context in which such an agreement was made.

I'm out to walk the dog so I too will be absent for the next while, I expect a ridiculous amount of water under the bridge upon my return as is inevitable with these threads

20Cent wrote: »

Guy made the now most well known gif ever. He is news now dunno what the the fuss about reporting who he or she is. Thats what news organisations are supposed to do.

Agreed. How do you feel about the media cutting deals to suppress stories in exchange for actions on the part of the story's subjects?

hatrickpatrick wrote: »

Agreed. How do you feel about the media cutting deals to suppress stories in exchange for actions on the part of the story's subjects?

by supress stories do you mean asking him not to make anymore gifs attacking them? A gif is hardly a story.

Jayop wrote: »

I'm a leftie liberal weenie but I don't like this by CNN one bit. All they did here was give the right an excuse now every time they dox someone. Although they didn't actually do it a threat to do it gives ****s like fox, breitbart etc an A-OK to do it.

It was a spectacularly stupid and short-sighted thing to do.

Even in their best-case scenario, I wonder how they imagined the whole situation would have turned out.

20Cent wrote: »

by supress stories do you mean asking him not to make anymore gifs attacking them? A gif is hardly a story.

I mean that they will suppress the story of his real identity, which they obviously felt was newsworthy enough to research - provided that he doesn't make any more gifs.

pumpkin4life wrote: »

https://twitter.com/Noahpinion/status/882435446462062593

Nah, it's not because of people being reasonable.

It's because you don't like what you are hearing Noah.

I can't imagine why...maybe it's all the N-bombs?

I'm pretty happy to stand by everything I've said online.

In and of itself, I wouldn't have a problem with being publicly associated with my accounts on various fora.

However, that's missing the point entirely of focusing on people by the media, doxxing and that sort of thing.

The issue is that if you're singled out for any reason that is a problem in itself.
It doesn't matter what you said or what your beliefs are - just by virtue of being looked at by large numbers of people you will become a target.

The volume of people is the problem and it's why it makes twitter look like a cesspit. You'll get all the rape and death threats because if you interact with a million, or 50 million people, a few hundred will be some sort of dickhead or lunatic.

So, the argument that "if you don't want to stand by your comments then don't say them" is bollocks and misses the point. The notoriety or celebrity element is enough in itself to be a problem for the individual irrespective of what they say because the number of people taking an interest will be sufficiently large to ensure the attention of the kind of people you don't want.

If you think arbirtrary reasons are good enough to justify this kind of behaviour, well then congratulations, you've given carte blanche to the other side to do the same.
Undermining the ability to hold discourse goes both ways.

I've been reading this thread and its just gone round and round and round more times than Dougal, Florence, Brian and Zebedee!

This basic point is CNN bullied/blackmailed/threatened/coerced (call it what you like, I'm past caring!) an individual, private citizen. From an organisation the size of CNN? One of the first rules of journalism is don't become the story yourself, as CNN are now finding out why.

Absolutely and irrespectively of what the poster said, done or posted, CNN's threat to him is wrong and diabolical, even borderline fascist:
"SILENCE! OR ELSE!" knowing full well if the posters details were publicised, a fair amount of fruitloops would make his life toast. Anyone endeavoring to condone CNN's actions "...because..." is nothing more or less than weapons grade whataboutery being perpetrated by boring, virtue signaling snowflakes.

Like a previous poster, I'm off to walk my dogs for an hour or two, respond/post/reply or don't, I'm past caring, I doubt I'll be returning to this thread in a hurry.