Internet star Ken Bone recently did an AMA interview on Reddit. Gizmodo, continuing Gawker’s long legacy of internet shaming, trawled through Bone’s previous Reddit comments in an attempt to embarrass the affable undecided voter.
The first thing that Gizmodo accuses Bone of is supporting the killing of Trayvon Martin. In the post in question, Bone simply states a fact, saying, “From what I’ve read about the case the shooting of Trayvon Martin was justified.”
This is true, as George Zimmerman was acquitted in the trial relating to Martin’s death and it was deemed that the shooting was justified. Gizmodo, however ran this fact as part of an accusatory headline implying that there was something wrong with what Bone said.
Gizmodo also dug through Bone’s Reddit history to find comments he made on some lewd pictures, further attempting to shame the man for no apparent reason.
Bone also responded to a user enquiring about a vasectomy operation in a post asking about other redditors’ experiences following the procedure. Bone provided his own insight having undergone the procedure, but Gizmodo framed his post as, “Ken Bone also revealed, uh, a little bit more information we didn’t really want to know.”
Throughout Bone’s comment history, only one comment could be in any way relevant to his current newfound fame, a post in which Bone allegedly discusses committing insurance fraud. However, there is no way to verify the veracity of the story Bone relates.
Gizmodo’s “research” eventually made it onto the pages of The New York Times in an article about the turning of Bone’s online popularity. He eventually responded to the outlet’s attempts to wring an apology out of him for his judgment of the Trayvon Martin shooting and for comments he made about Jennifer Lawrence’s leaked nude photos in 2014:
“If you read the whole post on the Trayvon Martin tragedy you’ll see that I said based on what I read, which was the release from the D.O.J., the shooting was ruled as legally justified,” he wrote. “It was also an awful thing to happen. Just because it was legal does not mean it was right. I wish Trayvon were still alive.” (The Department of Justice said that the evidence surrounding the case did not meet the law’s high standard for prosecuting bias-motivated crimes.)
On his posts about Ms. Lawrence, he had this to say: “It was a joke in poor taste made from my former anonymity. I take full responsibility for saying it. I wholeheartedly apologize and wish I could do so to her directly.”
CNN also piled on to the undecided voter in an article titled “Ken Bone leaves seedy comment trail on Reddit,” highlighting “Bone’s questionable Reddit posts include a number of comments about the bodies of women in NSFW photos.”
It’s unsurprising that Gizmodo, the rebranded remnant of the toxic Gawker Media empire, has continued Gawker’s legacy of ridiculing and attacking the innocent and well-meaning. It previously acted as Gawker’s main business model, one which in the end cost them greatly.
Note: This article has been updated to include additional coverage from other media outlets.
Lucas Nolan is a conservative who regularly contributes articles on censorship and free speech to Breitbart. Follow him on Twitter@LucasNolan_ or email him at lucas@yiannopoulos.net
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