CNN is once again in hot water after the network was accused of blackmailing a Reddit user (also called a Redditor) over the creation of the GIF that President Donald Trump shared. The GIF was edited to make it look like Trump was wrestling the news giant.
The original video showed Trump and WWE mogul Vince McMahon. The CNN logo was placed over the face of McMahon to show Trump and the news network’s relationship. The man behind the GIF created it last week and it was shared by the president on his Twitter page.
How the GIF ended up on Trump’s Twitter
The GIF was created by a man who used the Reddit username “HanA******Solo” under the Reddit thread /r/The Donald, NY Mag reported. Journalists went through the Reddit threads of the man and saw that he had anti-semitic and racist posts, still under the /r/The Donald thread. It seems that the people working for Trump saw the GIF and posted it on the president’s Twitter account. There is no other source where they could have possibly gotten the GIF, NY Mag added.
The Redditor then deleted his account but he posted an apology before doing so. He said the GIF was a prank and a satire and added that the posts under the account were indeed racist, bigoted, and anti-semitic so he also apologized for those.
The man added, “I am in no way this kind of person, I love and accept people of all walks of life and have done so for my entire life.”
Hashtag 'CNNBlackmail' trends on Twitter
After the Redditor deleted his account and posts altogether, many Twitter users believed CNN made him do that. The hashtag “CNNBlackmail” then trended on the social media platform.
Even before the blackmail theory trended, CNN published a statement regarding the matter. They said that they already know who the person behind “HanA******Solo” is but they chose to not identify him as he is a private citizen aside from the fact that he issued an “extensive statement of apology.” CNN believes the man showed his remorse and allegedly told the news giant that he will no longer repeat such “ugly behavior on social media.” CNN concluded their statement by saying that they have the right to publish the man’s identity in case he does not keep his promises, CNBC reported.
After CNN faced backlash over the possibility that they blackmailed the Redditor, they released another statement saying that the assertion that he was coerced to take his account down is false. CNN further explained that the Reddit user apologized and deleted his account even before speaking with them.
