By Cheri Roberts for Challenging the Rhetoric

The growing trend of the Alt-right and GOP supporters using kids, even fictitious ones, as fodder, should be concerning to everyone. The latest twist comes from troll central regarding President Donald Trump’s WWE Tweet depicting himself beating a CNN reporter. The new talking point is that that the maker of the original gif, is a 15-year old kid being blackmailed by the news agency.

This is false. The person responsible is an adult male who himself apologized before ever speaking to a CNN reporter.

No 15-year old. No blackmail.

Of course, the die-hards will continue to perpetuate the lie claiming CNN is covering it up. The same way they have continued spreading so-called “PizzaGate” disinformation about a made-up pedophile ring that resulted in gun violence at a Washington D.C. pizzeria that is alleged to house the pedophile dungeon in their basement. And…