In an attempt to celebrate Independence Day yesterday, CNN posted a series of tweets from key political figures in history that were ironic at best (coming from them):

#FourthOfJuly pic.twitter.com/Vb28DFCyBU

— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) July 4, 2017

#FourthOfJuly pic.twitter.com/xcoOTGn8w8

— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) July 4, 2017

For CNN, taking the high road and maturity rules, apparently. That is exactly what they did yesterday evening when they tracked down the Reddit user responsible for this video:

The user, dubbed “HanA**holeSolo” first shared the GIF last Wednesday. The GIF was later edited into a video with sound and tweeted by the President on Sunday. The Reddit user, has since removed all posts and apologized for this post and others that were seemed bigoted, racist and anti-Semitic:

“First of all, I would like to apologize to the members of the Reddit community for getting this site and this sub embroiled in a controversy that should never have happened. I would also like to apologize for the posts made that were racist, bigoted, and anti-Semitic. 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. I am not the person that the media portrays me to be in real life, I was trolling and posting things to get a reaction from the subs on Reddit and never meant any of the hateful things I said in those posts. I would never support any kind of violence or actions against others simply for what they believe in, their religion, or the lifestyle they choose to have. Nor would I carry out any violence against anyone based upon that or support anyone who did.”

I have no idea what these other posts consisted of. Could they have been racist, bigoted and anti-Semitic? Sure. But the fact that the content went completely ignored before but garnered the attention from CNN once their name was attached to the material illustrates how petty the folks at CNN truly are. They claim to stand up for all that is “American”. They claim to be the picture of true journalism and integrity. They post quotes of political figures to illustrate how patriotic they are and to illustrate that they are stellar examples (cough, cough) of defending all that is good against the evils of a Trump Presidency! Then, what do they turn around to do? Gloat that they found the Reddit user responsible for the original GIF and that they got him to apologize.

Rumor has it “HanA**holeSolo” is a 15 year-old boy and that CNN decided not to reveal his identity only after he apologized! In a statement:

CNN is not publishing “HanA**holeSolo’s” name because he is a private citizen who has issued an extensive statement of apology, showed 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.

Sounds like blackmail to me.

CNN can track down a random guy from Reddit, but they totally have no idea how Donna Brazile got the debate questions guys #CNNBlackmail

— Steve Koplowitz (@JuicyPolitics) July 5, 2017

Mon: "GIFs make people want to hurt us!"
Tues: "Apologize or we'll hurt you."#CNNBlackmail

— Razor (@hale_razor) July 5, 2017

Just when you think CNN couldn't sink lower, now they blackmail citizens for expressing free speech they don't agree with.#CNNBlackmail

— Amy Mek (@AmyMek) July 5, 2017

Does this feel like America?

A huge news organization hunting down a private citizen for a tweet then threatening to dox him? #CNNBlackmail

— Tara McCarthy ♥️🇺🇸 (@TaraMcCarthy_14) July 5, 2017

So glad I have exited the world of journalism. I would never meet the job requirements of journos today:

1. Must engage in liberal group-think.
2. Must think Barack Obama was the most prolific president of our lifetime.
3. Must manufacture stories that only pertain to the political agenda of choice.
4. Must hide behind moral virtue-signaling and ethics while engaging in thug-like tactics and threatening teenagers.

Unbelievable. Journalism is officially dead. Grab your popcorn, folks. I will be watching while this network spontaneously combusts. Go ahead, CNN, I said something unkind about you. I may have even hurt your feelings. You probably are not going to like what I have to say in the future, either. Dox me. I dare you.