Twitter Reacts To CNN's Threat Of Doxing Reddit User Who Created Trump's WWE Video

CNN claimed in an article Tuesday that they have tracked down the Reddit user who was responsible for creating a GIF file of President Donald Trump, which showed the commander-in-chief punching a man with the network’s logo superimposed on his face.

In an article titled "How CNN found the Reddit user behind the Trump wrestling GIF," the network stated that the user in question has "issued an apology for the video and other offensive content he posted, a day after CNN identified the man behind the account and attempted to make contact with him."

Read: Donald Trump Takes Twitter War With CNN To The Wrestling Ring

The network, however, did not publish the user’s name stating that "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."

"CNN reserves the right to publish his identity should any of that change," the article read on the network’s website.

CNN’s reaction to the user’s apology and the network’s obvious threat to dox the user received huge backlash on Twitter. Users including WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange criticized CNN’s approach on the issue. Twitter users have also been using a hashtag called "CNNBlackmail" on the posts to criticize the network's stance on the issue.

The Reddit user, identified as "HanA-----eSolo" issued an apology Tuesday and said "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,” referring to the pro-Trump "subreddit" or community called "R/The_Donald."

CNN’s article specified that the post had been deleted from the Reddit site Tuesday evening.

Read: CNN Isn’t The Only News Organization That Had To Retract Trump Articles, Vice Did Too

"The meme was created purely as a satire, it was not meant to be a call to violence against CNN or any other news affiliation," he wrote adding, "I had no idea anyone would take it and put sound to it and then have it put up on the President's Twitter feed. It was a prank, nothing more." "HanA-----eSolo" also claimed responsibility of creating the meme Sunday.

Trump tweeted the GIF on the same day in the morning, with the hashtag "#FraudNewsCNN."

After the president tweeted the video Sunday, "HanA-----eSolo" took to Reddit and said that he was "honored," adding "Holy s—!! I wake up and have my morning coffee and who retweets my s—post but the MAGA EMPORER himself!!! I am honored!!" MAGA is an acronym for the President's campaign slogan: Make America great again," the article claimed.

"HanA-----eSolo" also said speaking about the president's tweet, "I think they should have used a better judgment, since the President tweets things off the cuff, it's a knee-jerk reaction. I don't feel that they should have posted something like that given the controversy going on between them and the media," referring to the fact that the White House has not responded to the network’s queries regarding how the video was posted as a tweet from the president’s account. According to the CNN article, a senior administration official informed the network Monday that Trump did not take the video from Reddit for posting it on his account.

The reddit account of "HanA-----eSolo" was deleted Tuesday, but BuzzFeed posted the full text of the user's apology.

My fellow redditors,

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.

As time went on it became an addiction as to how far it could go with the posts that were made. This has been an extreme wake up call to always consider how others may think or feel about what is being said before clicking the submit button anywhere online that an opinion is allowed. Free speech is a right we all have, but it shouldn’t be used in the manner that it was in the posts that were put on this site. Just because you are behind a keyboard doesn’t mean you can’t hurt someone with your words or cause a situation such as this one where a simple meme is misconstrued as calling for violence.

I do not advocate violence against the press and the meme I posted was in no way advocating that in any way, shape or form. Our first amendment protects the press from things like violence, and we as American citizens should respect that even if the opinions of the press are not in line with our own. The meme was created purely as satire, it was not meant to be a call to violence against CNN or any other news affiliation. I had no idea anyone would take it and put sound to it and then have it put up on the President’s Twitter feed. It was a prank, nothing more. What the President’s feed showed was not the original post that was posted here, but loaded up somewhere else and sound added to it then sent out on Twitter. I thought it was the original post that was made and that is why I took credit for it. I have the highest respect for the journalist community and they put their lives on the line every day with the jobs that they do in reporting the news.The Internet and social media is capable of many great things, and this is an example of the not so great things that it can do. Trolling to get a reaction out of people is not the best way to make a point, the way to do it is to present your facts in a manner to convey the message that will not invoke anger. To people who troll on the Internet for fun, consider your words and actions conveyed in your message and who it might upset or anger. Put yourself in their shoes before you post it. If you have a problem with trolling it is an addiction just like any other addiction someone can have to something and don’t be embarrassed to ask for help. Trolling is nothing more than bullying a wide audience. Don’t feed your own self-worth based upon inflicting suffering upon others online just because you are behind a keyboard. We as redditors and as Americans are better than this.

So to the members of this community, the site, the media (especially CNN), and anyone offended by the posts, again I apologize. This is one individual that you will not see posting hurtful or hateful things in jest online. This is my last post from this account and I wanted to do it on a positive note and hopefully it will heal the controversy that this all caused. Peace.

“The more you know yourself, the less judgmental you become” ― Aniekee Tochukwu Ezekiel