Real 4.0
Edited on 04-22-2018: Grammatically and Visually.
A rare thing happened the other day.
I found myself in like-minded company, on the internet.
As sad as it is to say, it involves Reddit, though.
President Trump recently tweeted a short video clip of himself wrestling an adversary to the ground outside of a wrestling ring, the adversary's face was not human, instead, it was a superimposed CNN logo.
The overall message being President Trump is wrestling with the media he believes should be labeled as, "Fake News".
CNN did some investigating and the video was traced back to a Redditor with the username, "HanA**holeSolo".
This Redditor was found of having a history of posting anti-Semitic, racist, homophobic, and other discriminatory and bigoted material.
"HanA**holeSolo's" reaction started off with a self-congratulatory praise for the video he created and the fact President Trump tweeted it, followed by a surge of Reddit/internet fame, he then apologized publicly once CNN contacted him for an interview, after which he then participated in an AMA (Ask Me Anything), on the subreddit, r/The_Donald, and then decided to come to the conclusion the best course of action would be to delete all of his comments on Reddit and the account itself, as the internet was trying to create blackmail theories, involving CNN.
Let's start with the concept of internet anonymity through username.
It's clear this form of anonymity is becoming less effective as time goes on. I would go as far as to say, it's superficial at this point. It took less than 24 hours for CNN to locate and contact someone based on their Reddit username alone. Let this sink in for a moment.
The next concept people should take into consideration is the fact Reddit accounts are for a person's own private use.
Regardless of what the user decides to create an account for, the anonymity of such an account rests on the user and the entity the account is created through.
The account might have been an "alt" account, meaning the account was created for the sole purpose of posting "Non-IRL", (not in real life) material, without fear of it backfiring on them in their real life.
These two revelations combined should make those who repeatedly visit high profile public forums for the sole purpose of making themselves feel better at the expense of others, you all just got put on notice.
Nobody seems to know.
Is Reddit at fault?
In my opinion, they are partially at fault. This event is connected to the subreddit and group of people whom Reddit, at one point, permanently banned for the creation of r/The_Donald.
What this means is simply put, Reddit can't even control itself.
Legitimately, the Reddit administrators have officially lost control of their own website.
The tailspin starts at the point of the public apology. Here is a person who is fully aware of the materials they are posting and does it for the sheer excitement of being controversial and "Politically Incorrect", for all of his family and friends to see. Think of it as the internet equivalent of President Trump's "locker room banter" comment.
They created an account to be controversial, then, they reach what can only be described as the highest peak of internet fame through trolling and with the assist going to the President of the United States of America.
I mean, you couldn't write a better outcome for a trolling internet simpleton if you tried.
Why the apology then?
He claims his Reddit history, weren't representative of who he is in real life.
CNN, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and the New York Times seem to want a change in tone across the internet as well, specifically targeting Reddit.
This isn't the first time this kind of internet conduct has found its way into the real world.
Maybe we can all start thinking about how this may be the beginning of the end.
Unless, of course, the "troll collective" are smart enough to figure out why they should quit before they cross a line.
WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH
-1984
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