CNN implied threat against redditor over Trump-CNN GIF ignites Internet

The alleged source of the animated GIF of Donald Trump beating down WWE Chief Executive Vince McMahon with a CNN logo superimposed on McMahon's face deleted many of his posts to Reddit. He also issued an apology on /r/the_donald for his trolling activities after being tracked down by the production team of CNN's KFile.

CNN reported on the source, who uses the Reddit username "HanAssholeSolo," and reserved the right to expose his identity later if he did not change his online behavior.

CNN is not publishing "HanA**holeSolo’s" name 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. In addition, he said his statement could serve as an example to others not to do the same.

CNN reserves the right to publish his identity should any of that change.

That implied threat led to a widespread negative response, with some accusing CNN of bullying or blackmail. Hacker, troll, and self-described white supremacist Andrew “eev” Aurheimer has threatened, through the white supremacist site The Daily Stormer, to “dox” CNN’s reporting team and its family members. Aurheimer is a fan of the Trump tweet, including the photoshopped WWE video.

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