CNN Broadcasts Zimmerman Social Security Number
by Ben Shapiro 1 Jul 2013, 12:02 PM PDT 3503 post a comment
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On Monday, CNN showed George Zimmerman’s Social Security number and other personal information live over the air, including address, date of birth, and phone number. Officer Doris Singleton was testifying when the prosecutors showed a narrative report including Zimmerman’s information.
That immediately launched a round of tweets by Zimmerman haters celebrating knowledge of that information.
This is hardly the first time Zimmerman’s personal information has been distributed by those who oppose him. During the initial coverage of the Zimmerman trial, Spike Lee retweeted the home address of what he thought was Zimmerman’s home address. It turned out to be the wrong address. Roseanne Barr then tweeted Zimmerman’s parents’ home address. “If Zimmerman isn't arrested I'll rt his address again. maybe go 2 his house myself,” Barr tweeted.
This isn't the first element of media bias in the Zimmerman case, either. The Associated Press originally reported that Zimmerman was white. That falsehood was repeated for days by the media, heightening the racial aspect of the case.
The media also broadcast photographs of Zimmerman from a 2005 arrest rather than current photos, and conversely broadcast photographs of Martin as a pre-teen, not the 17-year-old he was at the time of the killing (the media's photographic choices actually impacted witness testimony during the trial).
NBC News manipulated tape of Zimmerman's 911 call to make it seem that Zimmerman had targeted Martin because he was black, rather than responding to 911 dispatcher questions. CNN also isolated audio of Zimmerman purportedly calling Martin a racial slur during the call -- an allegation that ended up being completely false.
Both ABC News and NBC News also alleged that Zimmerman's injuries did not exist, releasing badly-pixellated photographs from the night of the incident. As trial testimony has shown, Zimmerman was indeed injured during the incident with Martin.
UPDATE: CNN has now released a statement about showing Zimmerman’s personal information: Routinely the evidence is first given to the Court Clerk for redaction, and that didn’t happen in this instance. The Court is circling back to attorneys on both sides to make sure they give the Clerk’s office the opportunity to redact the necessary information.
Ben Shapiro is Editor-At-Large of Breitbart News and author of the New York Times bestseller “ Bullies: How the Left’s Culture of Fear and Intimidation Silences America” (Threshold Editions, January 8, 2013). |
