Some reporters love the Russian interference story. They simply can’t get enough of it.
It’d be a lot more amusing were it not for the fact that this sort of obsessing often gets out of hand. It sure did this week when CNN sent reporter Drew Griffin to confront a private citizen who, they claim, unwittingly coordinated with Kremlin-connected trolls.
This is a real thing that happened:
A Florida woman who ran a Trump supporters page that unwittingly promoted a Russian-coordinated event on Facebook says she doesn’t believe that she was influenced by Kremlin-linked trolls https://t.co/DmgDRFRwyn pic.twitter.com/OAz5julCyA— CNN (@CNN) February 21, 2018
CNN published the pro-Trump citizen’s first, middle, and last name online. They named the person’s state. They even named the person’s county. CNN listed the exact title of the pro-Trump Facebook page the private individual oversees. CNN also broadcast the individual’s face all over television. The private citizen, who reportedly promoted an event organized by Russian trolls, is now being harassed online because (surprise, surprise) the modern state of political discourse is ugly as hell.
“I don’t go with Russians, c’mon, give me a break,” the individual told CNN’s Griffin after he appeared on the individual’s lawn to inquire about the pro-Trump Facebook page and Russian troll-linked events.
It’s remarkable that CNN editors didn’t consider that outing a private citizen as an unwitting dupe of Russian interference would put an enormous target on that private citizen’s chest. What did they think bitter and unscrupulous political activists would do with this information? It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that one out.
In case you were wondering, this is precisely part of the reason why we in the press are supposed to leave private citizens alone. They don’t ask for this attention, and they don’t deserve it.
It’s one thing to stake out state capitols. It’s one thing to approach public figures with uncomfortable questions. After all, they’re public figures. It’s another thing entirely to show up at private residence to confront its private owner about something as heated and convoluted at Russia’s alleged interference in the 2016 presidential election.
By the way, like the private citizen, CNN was also reportedly duped into covering a Nov. 12, 2016, anti-Trump event organized by – you guessed it! – Kremlin-connected trolls.
Going after this private individual is wrong for so many immediately obvious reasons. This wasn’t a news report. This was an on-air doxxing.
Punch up, folks.
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Full disclosure: This author is a paid contributor with CNN/HLN.
