The liberal media lost their minds recently after a slowed down video falsely claiming to show Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) drunk and slurring her words went viral. Then, in what their editor-in-chief called a “right on the money” response, The Daily Beast hunted down the creator of the video and exposed his identity. It’s a seedy tactic CNN themselves have used against Trump supporters and private citizens in the past, so it’s no wonder Reliable Sources host Brian Stelter promoted it.
There to promote their article with the headline proclaiming “we found the guy behind the viral ‘drunk Pelosi’ video”, Daily Beast editor-in-chief Noah Shachtman boasted about how reporter “Kevin Poulsen was able to track down the kind of network of fake news sites that were pushing this, and then the person that first uploaded the video.”
Stelter then pounced on the $1,000 the uploader made in ads on the video as his motive for making the video, but Shachtman pushed back. “It might have been a lot of money to him. But I don't think it was a pure profit motive. I think for him it was a matter of ideology. It was – You know, he's a big Trump supporter,” he said.
The article itself actually noted how the video maker refused to talk with The Daily Beast at first because he was afraid for his privacy. The left-wing news outlet had no reservations about publishing his full name, the city and neighborhood he lived in, his arrest record, and what he currently did for a living.
Rightly, there was a lot of negative pushback on how The Daily Beast effectively doxed a private citizen for his political beliefs.
In a weak attempt to question Shachtman about that point, Stelter asked: “The people saying you shouldn't have named him because he's a private citizen. I'm seeing a lot of people saying you all were responsible for outing him.”
“I don't think that's accurate. First of all, I think he outed himself, you know, by attaching his name to several fake news sites that then pushed the video,” Shachtman defended their tactics and blaming the Trump supporter. Proving how weak his sincerity was for the question, Stelter immediate bought into his guest’s argument with a simple “okay”.
Shachtman further defended his organization tactics:
He spoke to our reporter at length and on the record for an hour and a half. Then we also withheld some information that he didn't -- that he didn't want out there, that he felt would impinge on his privacy. So, I -- I am glad that these people want to protect the privacy of this man. But I think our actions, in this case, were right on the money.
Again, it’s no wonder CNN supports this kind of dangerous reporting since they conduct themselves the exact same way.
Back in 2017, the network bragged about how investigative reporter Andrew Kaczynski tracked down the creator of a meme that was mean to CNN (tweeted out by President Trump) and threatened to reveal his identity if he made any more. They essentially blackmailing him.
Then, in 2018, CNN tracked down and harassed an elderly Florida woman who they accused of being “influenced by Kremlin-linked trolls”. The elderly woman had to leave her home because of all the death threats she received from the people who watched CNN’s reports.
This kind of reporting puts the lives of average citizens in danger all because they chose to support the wrong person for president. It’s a standard that the liberal media would lose their minds over if it was applied to them.
The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:
CNN’s Reliable Sources
June 2, 2019
11:25:10 a.m. EasternBRIAN STELTER: Let's turn to your scoop this weekend, Noah. The Daily Beast’s Kevin Poulsen reporting on the possible, seems, the creator of that Nancy Pelosi dumb fake video. This was the one that made her appear to be drunk, slurring her words. It got a lot of attention a week ago. So, you all tried to figure out who created it?
NOAH SHACHTMAN: Right. I mean, look, this is a video that was a hoax that reached up to the highest, highest levels of power with Rudy Giuliani himself pushing it out. And so there's a lot of speculation about who might or might not be behind this. And so Kevin Paulsen was able to track down the kind of network of fake news sites that were pushing this, and then the person that first uploaded the video.
STELTER: And what we learned from the story is that there's a profit motive here, that you can put up a lot of voice on Facebook, you can make a quick buck. Didn't the guy say me made $1,000?
SHACHTMAN: Yeah. I mean, but look, that’s not – It might have been a lot of money to him. But I don't think it was a pure profit motive. I think for him it was a matter of ideology. It was – You know, he's a big Trump supporter. And one of the most interesting things about this story to me was that you don't need some sophisticated operation in order to publish fake news or publish a hoax that will grab the country's attention.
STELTER: It doesn't take a Russian bot farm. It's just one person with video-editing software tricking people.
SHACHTMAN: Yeah, exactly. And I thought that was the real key to the story. And the reason--
STELTER: The people saying you shouldn't have named him because he's a private citizen. I'm seeing a lot of people saying you all were responsible for outing him.
SHACHTMAN: I don't think that's accurate. First of all I think he outed himself, you know, by attaching his name to several fake news sites that then pushed the video.
STELTER: Okay.
SHACHTMAN: He spoke to our reporter at length and on the record for an hour and a half. Then we also withheld some information that he didn't -- that he didn't want out there, that he felt would impinge on his privacy. So, I -- I am glad that these people want to protect the privacy of this man. But I think our actions, in this case, were right on the money.
STELTER: It does feel that dumb fakes are everywhere these days.
