CNN vs Reddit user controversy

Sparked by the controversial tweet put out by President Trump on July 2nd depicting himself slamming an individual into the ground a la WWE style, CNN’s publishing of an article turned controversial shines a light on 2 important duties that both the producers of content and consumers of content have: a duty to inform the producers of content that they have crossed a line. In this instance, some legal lines appear to have been crossed by CNN.

While that answered the question of “who monitors the media”, the question of “who controls the media” hasn’t really been answered yet. And in the end, only those who hold a position of authority within a media source choose what they want to cover and have published.

But while one can very easily brush this off as the fault of someone that simply didn’t do their job properly, a company of CNN’s size should very much have higher quality standards when it comes to editors reviewing articles before they are made public, regardless of what side of the political spectrum you align with. Otherwise, potential legal troubles can emerge, as pointed out by consumers of this content, such as Julian Assange and Ted Cruz to name just a few.

Sources

• Kaczynski, A. (2017, July 05). How CNN found the Reddit user behind the Trump wrestling GIF. Retrieved September 14, 2017, from http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/04/politics/kfile-reddit-user-trump-tweet/index.html
• Dailymail.com, L. Q. (2017, July 05). CNN is accused of 'blackmailing' Reddit user who created Trump GIF by 'threatening to reveal his identity if he posts more offensive material'. Retrieved September 14, 2017, from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4667962/CNN-accused-blackmailing-pro-Trump-Reddit-user.html
• Silva, D. (2017, July 02). Trump tweets video of himself body-slamming 'CNN'. Retrieved September 14, 2017, from https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/president-trump-tweets-wwe-video-himself-attacking-cnn-n779031
• Tweets taken from the twitter accounts of Julian Assange, Ted Cruz, CNN, and Andrew Kacyznski
• New York Consolidated Laws, Penal Law - PEN § 135.60. (n.d.). Retrieved September 14, 2017, from http://codes.findlaw.com/ny/penal-law/pen-sect-135-60.html
• FindLaw for Legal Professionals | Law & Legal Information. (n.d.). Retrieved September 14, 2017, from http://lp.findlaw.com/