title: #CNNBlackmail Trending as Network Blackmails Trump Meme Reddit User
text: 21st Century WireYesterday, US mainstream media outlet CNN threatened to expose the identity of a Reddit user who is said to have created the spoof  WWF  video meme which was Tweeted by President Donald Trump on Sunday morning, showing Trump in a cartoon fight with CNN.This was the offending Tweet which Trump released on Sunday morning, including a video meme gleaned from Reddit: #FraudNewsCNN #FNN pic.twitter.com/WYUnHjjUjg  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 2, 2017Apparently, CNN was so distraught over Trump s online prank which CNN claimed promoted violence against reporters    that the cable news network tried (unsuccessfully) to get Twitter to remove it from their website.CNN then went on to report on Monday boasting about how they trolled and tracked the Reddit user under the handle HanAssholeSolo who had created the original meme.The following day on Tuesday, the Reddit user made a public apology (since deleted, but posted here at Buzzfeed News). But the apology wasn t voluntary   as CNN appears to have blackmailed the man.Ultimately, CNN decided not to reveal his identity  not for safety reasons, but for political ones, apparently rewarding him for apologizing and recanting his views. In addition, CNN threatened to expose the Reddit user s identity in future if it disapproved of his behavior or his statements   essentially blackmailing him:Now, CNN has been accused of both threatening and blackmailing the creator of the wrestling meme.CNN s KFile  discovered the real identity of the Reddit user credited with creating the meme, HanA**holeSolo, and tried to contact him. The meme creator then apologized on Reddit, saying he doesn t advocate violence against the media. According to CNN, he then got in touch with KFile and asked not to be named. CNN also said that it would not publish the man s name, because he is a private citizen who has issued an extensive statement of apology,  and that CNN reserves the right to publish his identity should any of that change. As a result of the controversy, the hashtag #CNNBlackmail has been trending on Twitter.The online backlash has been hard and swift, as thousands of Tweets reveal the scale of public distaste for CNN:"CNN: The Most Trusted Name In Silencing Political Dissent"#CNNBlackmail pic.twitter.com/w0Lpl2ZGc2  Wrongthink Warlord (@NoSlackDelta) July 5, 2017If anyone tried to do what CNN just did on reddit, twitter or almost any online community   they would get instanstly banned. #CNNBlackmail pic.twitter.com/JbtRNPDUYK  Murad Gazdiev (@MuradGazdiev) July 5, 2017CNN tracks a 15 year old meme maker down in a few days but can't prove Russia conspiracy in over a year. #CNNBlackmail  Randy Newton (@threezeroleft) July 5, 2017It s no surprise that CNN reputation has been steadily tanking following a string of fake news reports regarding President Trump and Russia, along with some of the most abysmal journalism ever seen in modern times during its coverage of the 2016 election where it openly backed the eventual loser, Hillary Clinton, as well as continuous bogus reporting coming out of Syria where CNN has repeatedly laid the false claim that,  Assad is gassing his own people. READ MORE CNN NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire CNN FilesSUPPORT OUR WORK BY SUBSCRIBING & BECOMING A MEMBER @21WIRE.TV