CNN Threatens to Unmask Creator of Trump Video

He says he's very sorry
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 5, 2017 2:51 AM CDT
Updated Jul 5, 2017 6:21 AM CDT
Reddit User Apologizes for Trump Wrestling Video
"Han" says the White House never asked permission to tweet the video.   (YouTube)

The Reddit user who was overjoyed when President Trump tweeted his video of Trump body-slamming a man with the CNN logo over his face changed his tune when CNN caught up with him. CNN says user HanA**holeSolo posted an extensive apology on Reddit after the network discovered his identity and tried to contact him. "The meme was created purely as satire, it was not meant to be a call to violence against CNN or any other news affiliation," he wrote, per the Hollywood Reporter. He said "it was a prank, nothing more" and that he had no idea it would end up being tweeted by the president with added sound. He said he has the "highest respect for the journalist community."

He went on to apologize for "racist, bigoted, and anti-Semitic" posts he had made on Reddit, saying he had become addicted to trolling. "Trolling is nothing more than bullying a wide audience," he wrote. "Don't feed your own self-worth based upon inflicting suffering upon others online." CNN says it isn't disclosing the user's name because he has shown remorse and promised not to repeat the behavior, though the network "reserves the right to publish his identity should any of that change." BuzzFeed reports that critics accuse CNN of "blackmailing the man." WikiLeaks says "Trump was bad," but that CNN is worse for threatening to unmask an "amateur satirist" if he makes fun of the network again. (More Reddit stories.)

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