NEW YORK (AP) — CNN says a concern for the man’s safety led to its decision not to publish the name of a Reddit user whose doctored video of Donald Trump beating up a man with a CNN logo superimposed over his face was later tweeted out by the president himself.
The network revealed that it had identified the man, who apologized for his posting and said it had been a prank. CNN said it would not reveal his name, noting he had shown remorse, taken down his account and promised not to publish ugly material online.
But CNN’s statement that it “reserves the right to publish his name should any of that change” led to a backlash. Critics said the network was essentially blackmailing the man, which the network denied.
