Support NeoGAF

[Shao Kahn Brewing a Stew]

I mean legally they could probably do that since it's a public forum, but they wouldn't (and haven't.) This is newsworthy because the President got involved, that's why they investigated. This should come as no surprise to...anyone.

Right. It's all well and good. However, like I stated, going after a troll is just going to attract more trolls. CNN got lured into this and they bit. Now they're going to see the affect of it.

Streisand effect in full order at Reddit right now.

 

[Psychoward]

Regardless of all the awful stuff he's posted, it's still pretty bad that CNN shared that in their statement. Another thing to consider is that if CNN managed to figure his identity, anyone could've if he hadn't deleted his account after the fact so he should've been more careful about sharing personal information if he was going to behave in a way that he didn't want to be held accountable for it in real life.

No, it's really not bad at all. It's perfect because it shows what kind of shitbags the_donald posters and trump fans in general on the internet are like. These are your biggest fans, congrats.

 

[GrapeApes]

Regardless of all the awful stuff he's posted, it's still pretty bad that CNN shared that in their statement. Another thing to consider is that if CNN managed to figure his identity, anyone could've if he hadn't deleted his account after the fact so he should've been more careful about sharing personal information if he was going to behave in a way that he didn't want to be held accountable for it in real life.

The real lesson here is racists should do a better job of hiding their information!

 

[Ignatz Mouse]

I'll try my own spin here: racist proposing violence *doesn't* get exposed by major media outlet. Bunch of other internet racists freak out at the possibility of their words actually having consequences, even though there were no consequences here.

The guy got off easy, and people who post racist incendiary shit on the internet ought to wise up. But please, go on about how evil CNN is for not exposing an adult spouting violence racist language.

 

[benicillin]

While i question the relevance of this like i wonder why CNN felt the need to. I doubt it would be especially difficult, he was bragging about it and some subreddits noticed it so he didn't make it hard to find.

"Where does the President get his propaganda?"

There, I asked the journalism question that was the base of this investigation.

 

[pxleyes]

Ah yes, let's go through post history of everyone that posts at The_Donald and threaten to reveal their identity. That's going to make the public respect you more.

Whatever the case is, going after trolls is going to attract more trolls. The internet is a vile place and trying to dox everyone is just going to piss them off more.

No, just the ones who are retweeted by Donald himself.

 

[Psychoward]

is he borderline alt-right?

probably not but he's seemed to cross fully in to the "moderate free speeeeeeech" category that defends them at every waking moment yet won't raise a finger when people are actually victims of them

 

[Cesare Borgia]

CNN jumped the shark on this.

 

[Steel]

Regardless of all the awful stuff he's posted, it's still pretty bad that CNN shared that in their statement. Another thing to consider is that if CNN managed to figure his identity, anyone could've if he hadn't deleted his account after the fact so he should've been more careful about sharing personal information if he was going to behave in a way that he didn't want to be held accountable for it in real life.

Doesn't really matter that he deleted his account, the internet remembers. His identity will probably be public soon enough.

 

[benicillin]

Right. It's all well and good. However, like I stated, going after a troll is just going to attract more trolls. CNN got lured into this and they bit. Now they're going to see the affect of it.

Streisand effect in full order at Reddit right now.

Good thing the only people who care about the dumpster heap that is Reddit are...well, Redditors.

 

[Shao Kahn Brewing a Stew]

No, just the ones who are retweeted by Donald himself.

You go for one member of the community, you go for all. That's the scenario here.

 

[Psychoward]

You go for one member of the community, you go for all. That's the scenario here.

i'm trying to care but i can't muster it lol

 

[Shao Kahn Brewing a Stew]

i'm trying to care but i can't muster it lol

Yeah, I mean fuck that racist fuck. However, CNN could've handled it better, that's all.

Meh, at this point they should just reveal his identity to save face that it's not a 15 year old kid renting racist and genocidal shit.

 

[RionaaM]

As usual a lot of people online (and big YouTubers) are under the delusion that the MSM cares about their memes in any way or considers them important at all. This wasn't a Gawker-style violentacruz expose on Reddit users, this was a specific dude retweeted by THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. I know we've forgotten that the office is a big deal because Trump is a joke, but interacting with the President in a story that made literal actual international news makes you an involuntary public figure. It should be no surprise that CNN or anyone else would investigate where Trump was sourcing information.

God, get some fucking perspective people.

Not even Trump supporters take his job seriously. They think it's a freaking joke and laugh whenever he does something stupid. Man, this is sad.

When did the meaning of doxxing change from publicly and maliciously revealing someone's name and address to finding out the source of political propaganda and then not revealing who the author was?

When assholes realized they could try to take advantage of the situation. That way they can say crap like "See? The other side is doing it too, we aren't that bad after all". Of course, they are wrong.

 

[Steel]

You go for one member of the community, you go for all. That's the scenario here.

No, it's not. The scenario is a member of a community becoming a national news story, his identity not being all that difficult to track down through the internet, him being contacted, and his name not being released.

 

[moomoo14]

So what if the guy has unpleasant views? CNN shouldn't be tracking down people who make random internet memes on the internet and threatening to ruin their lives by revealing their identities. Even if they have unpleasant views. Because people are allowed to think what they want in a free society.

Imagine if Fox news threatened to reveal the identity of someone who made a meme of shooting Trump in the head, something more extreme? I'd have the exact same issue with that.

 

[civilstrife]

If the POTUS posted a controversial photo, news outlets would seek out the photographer for comment.
I see no difference between that and seeking out the creator of a GIF.

They have no obligation to hide his identity, but are doing it as a courtesy because he desperately wants to remain anonymous due to the very real possibility of his racism/sexism/bigotry ruining his life. This is not a courtesy usually extended to news-worthy figures.

CNN has no journalistic obligation to keep this guy anonymous. Given the context, I admire their restraint.

 

[Ghazi]

The real lesson here is racists should do a better job of hiding their information!

Just because someone said disgusting things or something you disagree with doesn't mean they deserve to be publicly outed. Everyone deserves privacy, though one could argue he forfeited that right when he made a post claiming the gif and became a high profile individual.

No, it's really not bad at all. It's perfect because it shows what kind of shitbags the_donald posters and trump fans in general on the internet are like. These are your biggest fans, congrats.

So we're supposed to be disgusted when the r/esisttrump mod got doxxed by alt righters but it's okay when it's a the_donald poster? I have no issue saying that hansolo dude is racist scumbag, but the double standards are real.

Doesn't really matter that he deleted his account, the internet remembers. His identity will probably be public soon enough.

I'm sure it's only a matter of time. The poster is going to have to own up to it then. But the issue isn't that he/she is going to be doxxed eventually, that happens every day on the internet. The issue is that a major news organization appeared to (emphasis on appeared) threaten to do so. That's some crazy shit.

 

[Bam Bam Baklava]

What the hell does internet anonymity have to do with free speech? This (apparently) middle aged man can grab a bullhorn and go rant about his musings in the middle of times square without the government jailing him for it, that's free speech.

 

[benicillin]

You go for one member of the community, you go for all. That's the scenario here.

That's the same argument Reddit users used when a creepy child-leering pervert got busted for running subreddits about underage 'jailbait' and exposed, so forgive me if I'm not all that sympathetic.

 

[Steel]

So what if the guy has unpleasant views? CNN shouldn't be tracking down people who make random internet memes on the internet and threatening to ruin their lives by revealing their identities. Even if they have unpleasant views. Because people are allowed to think what they want in a free society.

Imagine if Fox news threatened to reveal the identity of someone who made a meme of shooting Trump in the head, something more extreme? I'd have the exact same issue with that.

If Hillary retweeted that meme, then I'd expect anyone to track him down. Of course, this false equivalency isn't gonna happen.

 

[Lifeline]

Ah yes, let's go through post history of everyone that posts at The_Donald and threaten to reveal their identity. That's going to make the public respect you more.

Whatever the case is, going after trolls is going to attract more trolls. The internet is a vile place and trying to dox everyone is just going to piss them off more.

You mean racists.


Going after racists is going to attract more racists. Something tells me the people it's going to attract were already racists.


Can't believe people are supporting a dude that literally called for the murder of muslims.

 

[Brawly Likes to Brawl]

When did the meaning of doxxing change from publicly and maliciously revealing someone's name and address to finding out the source of political propaganda and then not revealing who the author was?

The Right are the kings of flipping the narrative.

 

[Shao Kahn Brewing a Stew]

That's the same argument Reddit users used when a creepy child-leering pervert got busted for running subreddits about underage 'jailbait' and exposed, so forgive me if I'm not all that sympathetic.

I have zero sympathies for the racist fuck. All I'm saying is that CNN could've worded it better.

 

[moomoo14]

If Hillary retweeted that meme, then I'd expect anyone to track him down. Of course, this false equivalency isn't gonna happen.

We're talking about a national news organization here, not just "anyone." It's a matter of the principal here. News organizations shouldn't be going after people who make memes. Period.

 

[Psychoward]

So it's okay to be disgusted when the r/esisttrump mod got doxxed by alt righters but it's okay when it's a the_donald poster? I have no issue saying that hansolo dude is racist scumbag, but the double standards are real.

Let's see, one got doxxed by a bunch of shit bags for modding a subreddit they didn't like. The other person is a part of a hateful community that's been shitposting, harassing and doxxing people on the Internet for the past 2 years and he just got his posts tracked down through entry level internet detective work by posting terror threats and I'm supposed to give a shit?

 

[j_k_redtail]

I like how he says CNN is bullying him.

Is calling for genocide of muslims not considered bullying? Just playful banter?

Right? The sense of entitlement and victimization in this family. It is limitless.

 

[sturgboski]

Some of y'all are being a bit absurd here. A major news organization is getting rustled over a meme (that isn't even particularly edgy. Like, it seems pretty standard internet humor to me) and literally went to the effort to find who made it and write an article about it. And made sure to write about how they had the right to tell the entire planet who made it should he keep on meme-ing.

How in the world is that ok? Like, it's a random person on the internet. Whatever. Be the bigger person and move on. Stuff like this will only make people trust you as a news organization even less.

From what I understand, this is information one can readily find? Or perhaps that was not correct.

Either way, its weird defending that group who came to prominence doxxing numerous women in the gaming industry, supporters of said women, and basically all of CNN in response to the CNN article.

 

[Steel]

We're talking about a national news organization here, not just "anyone." It's a matter of the principal here. News organizations shouldn't be going after people who make memes. Period.

No, they should track down the people that the President uses as sources. I would be fine in the hypothetical outlined if the POTUS retweeted someone who shows their opponent being shot in the head for news organizations to find out who they are. In principal.

Of course, the POTUS really shouldn't be trolling the dark corners of the internet for violent memes.

 

[benicillin]

We're talking about a national news organization here, not just "anyone." It's a matter of the principal here. News organizations shouldn't be going after people who make memes. Period.

*except for when that meme is distributed through channels that make it an OFFICIAL STATEMENT OF THE HIGHEST OFFICE IN THE COUNTRY.

"Where did the President get his propaganda that has made international news" is such a slam-dunk obvious newsworthy story I can't even believe you don't understand that.

 

[RPGCrazied]

How long before Trump starts to tweet about this? All this going on right before he meets Putin.

 

[Shao Kahn Brewing a Stew]

You mean racists.


Going after racists is going to attract more racists. Something tells me the people it's going to attract were already racists.


Can't believe people are supporting a dude that literally called for the murder of muslims.

I'm a Muslim. I'm not defending shit. I'm simply questioning the integrity of mainstream media, and CNN hastily posted the article.

CNN just gave more racist fucks an ammunition, and they gave the white house committee more reasons to talk shit about them and spin more lies to the general public who are unaware of the entire scenario.

The spin news is "OMG! CNN just blackmailed a 15 year old kid just because he created a Meme!", What will get million hits. All while the real story is "OMG! CNN just gave an ultimatum to a 30 year old man because he is a proud racist cunt who didn't expect to be caught".

 

[Lifeline]

So what if the guy has unpleasant views? CNN shouldn't be tracking down people who make random internet memes on the internet and threatening to ruin their lives by revealing their identities. Even if they have unpleasant views. Because people are allowed to think what they want in a free society.

Imagine if Fox news threatened to reveal the identity of someone who made a meme of shooting Trump in the head, something more extreme? I'd have the exact same issue with that.

Ah, yes. Such unpleasant views. I certainly hope a man who advocates for murder doesn't have his views exposed. Poor chap doesn't deserve that.

 

[Brawly Likes to Brawl]

We're talking about a national news organization here, not just "anyone." It's a matter of the principal here. News organizations shouldn't be going after people who make memes. Period.

Did you ignore my last reply to you? It wasn't just memes this guy was posting. The dude attempted to incite harassment against CNN's Jewish employees.

 

[Psychoward]

I'm a Muslim. I'm not defending shit. I'm simply questioning the integrity of mainstream media, and CNN hastily posted the article.

CNN just gave more racist fucks an ammunition, and they gave the white house committee more reasons to talk shit about them and spin more lies to the general public who are unaware of the entire scenario.

Racist fucks have unlimited ammunition.

 

[RPGCrazied]

Donald Trump Jr.‏Verified account
@DonaldJTrumpJr

If only @CNN spent as much time tracking down info on IRS targeting, Fast & Furious, Iran deal etc as they did a meme writer! #CNNBlackmail

And he continues. Jesus, is he the worst kid of the bunch? Sometimes I think I hate him more then Trump himself.

 

[p2535748]

I'm staggered by some of the replies in here. The reason the guy is newsworthy is because the President took his work and posted it out there for the world to see. That makes him newsworthy. Yes, all he did was make a meme (oh, and a whole bunch of super racist posts, but so what, that's no big deal, right?), but once Trump tweets that out, the story of where it comes from is newsworthy. The fact that it could destroy his life is because of all the other shit he did. I don't think most people would feel like creating one GIF is such a horrible misstep, but that's not why he would be in trouble if people found out his name. He'd be in trouble because he's done tons of other horrible things online.

So, the narrative that "all he did was create a GIF!" isn't true at all. Additionally, it's time people learn that online interactions and posting can often be traced back to you, and maybe it's time to adjust your actions online accordingly.

We're talking about a national news organization here, not just "anyone." It's a matter of the principal here. News organizations shouldn't be going after people who make memes. Period.

Once Trump tweets that meme out, it's news. It'll be in the national archives one day, it's an "official statement from the President", it's news. The guy may not have intended that, he may only have wanted two other people to see it, but the President tweeted it, it's news. The origin of it is news (especially since Trump has a history of posting stuff from really ugly sources). And again, he really wouldn't have much to worry about if it was the GIF. It's all the other shit he did that will get him in big trouble if his name comes out.

 

[Darryl M R]

I hope this is brought up in the press conference and I hope Sanders say that he is 15 y/o. Make CNN have to reveal his identity. Do it.

 

[Lifeline]

I'm a Muslim. I'm not defending shit. I'm simply questioning the integrity of mainstream media, and CNN hastily posted the article.

CNN just gave more racist fucks an ammunition, and they gave the white house committee more reasons to talk shit about them and spin more lies to the general public who are unaware of the entire scenario.

Racist fucks would've been complaining about racist shit no matter what. Let the admin try to defend this dude, the more his post history gets out there, the more it's going to backfire.

 

[j_k_redtail]

We're talking about a national news organization here, not just "anyone." It's a matter of the principal here. News organizations shouldn't be going after people who make memes. Period.

Why not? He was the President's source, and he threatened CNN employees. They are well within their right to ask him for comment. Or did he forget what these people do for a living?

 

[sturgboski]

And he continues. Jesus, is he the worst kid of the bunch? Sometimes I think I hate him more then Trump himself.

Wait, like Fox News and other alt right propaganda outlets OR is he implying they didnt at all?

 

[Aaronology]

So what if the guy has unpleasant views? CNN shouldn't be tracking down people who make random internet memes on the internet and threatening to ruin their lives by revealing their identities. Even if they have unpleasant views. Because people are allowed to think what they want in a free society.

Imagine if Fox news threatened to reveal the identity of someone who made a meme of shooting Trump in the head, something more extreme? I'd have the exact same issue with that.

And the media is allowed to report on such in a free society. Nothing CNN is doing is stopping this asshat from expressing himself. Freedom of Speech, not Freedom from Consequences.

 

[bob_arctor]

We're talking about a national news organization here, not just "anyone." It's a matter of the principal here. News organizations shouldn't be going after people who make memes. Period.

How dense are you to not realize that Trump is the one who made all of this happen. And by "all of this" I don't mean "going after", because CNN aren't the fucking mob. They investigated and sourced exactly where the POTUS gets his garbage from.

 

[Shao Kahn Brewing a Stew]

Racist fucks have unlimited ammunition.

And now they have infinite ammo for the week that the unaware public will agree with.

 

[The Jackdog]

im not sure where i fall on this but i do think the ability to say whatever the fuck you want and expect zero accountability has gone a little too far

 

[PnCIa]

Some of y'all are being a bit absurd here. A major news organization is getting rustled over a meme (that isn't even particularly edgy. Like, it seems pretty standard internet humor to me) and literally went to the effort to find who made it and write an article about it. And made sure to write about how they had the right to tell the entire planet who made it should he keep on meme-ing.

How in the world is that ok? Like, it's a random person on the internet. Whatever. Be the bigger person and move on. Stuff like this will only make people trust you as a news organization even less.

Maybe one day people will realize that their actions on the internet may have consequences.

There is clearly a culture clash happening here, people who are not used to "internet humor" seem to find this offensive and thats a valid interpretation. Its a short clip of the "president" beating up a major news organization in a symbolic way. Considering that he has been fighting the media for ages, someone who is not used to internet discourse can indeed see something instigating violence here.

The best part about this is that forums like the_donald, /pol/ etc... are now in mainstream focus, putting the hate speech and open racism going on there in the spotlight.

We're talking about a national news organization here, not just "anyone." It's a matter of the principal here. News organizations shouldn't be going after people who make memes. Period.

Why are memes (for example) an exception? If i would paint a beatiful picture of someone dismembering the president with a chainsaw and try to show it at an art gallery, sure as hell would there be reporting about it. Reporting is not "going after people".

 

[RPGCrazied]

Wait, like Fox News and other alt right propaganda outlets OR is he implying they didnt at all?

And he calls this guy a meme writer. Yeah, talk about not researching anything. He is a racist piece of shit. But he is just a meme writer! Leave him alone! /s

 

[Psychoward]

And now they have infinite ammo for the week that the unaware public will agree with.

And the difference between that and some other fake news propaganda that racists come up with and unaware people agree with is what exactly?

 

[mlclmtckr]

We're talking about a national news organization here, not just "anyone." It's a matter of the principal here. News organizations shouldn't be going after people who make memes. Period.

First they came for the memes
And I did not speak out because who gives a fuck

 

[GrapeApes]

We're talking about a national news organization here, not just "anyone." It's a matter of the principal here. News organizations shouldn't be going after people who make memes. Period.

Won't someone think of the memes?

Just because someone said disgusting things or something you disagree with doesn't mean they deserve to be publicly outed. Everyone deserves privacy, though one could argue he forfeited that right when he made a post claiming the gif and became a high profile individual.

Your post seemed sympathetic to racists. CNN isn't out here just trying to expose racists. This guy got inserted into a news story. He would still be out here promoting genocide if the President didn't use his material.