Desperate to make themselves the center of attention journalists circulate a supposedly threatening video.

It has become either tiresome or predictably laughable but another meme has cropped up that has the press corps of this country in an absolute meltdown of aghast outrage. Last night, the New York Times reported that at a pro-Trump event held in South Florida, at a Trump-owned resort, a violent video was shown at the conference depicting a violent scene with a mock-up of the President shooting media logos and other political figures.

To set things correctly here (something the tremulous media will not do in the midst of their outrage), this is what has sparked the outrage. It is a meme video using a scene from the motion picture spy satire “Kingsman: The Secret Service”. In that scene, actor Colin Firth is shown in a church, going through a hyper-stylized and rapidly edited shooting spree, killing dozens of parishioners. In the meme, President Trump’s face has been superimposed, and numerous worshipers in the pews have various logos from media outlets serving now as their heads.

Depending on your viewpoint, this can be seen as jarring and upsetting, humorous, or any other level of reaction. Given I am not usually prone to outrage over memes and videos I find the reaction more than curious. There has been a long list of media figures who have become outraged that this video was displayed, and they are in loud chorus about how offensive this violent depiction is and the violence it will certainly lead to in the future.

CNN has even put out a statement:

CNN statement on video shown at @realDonaldTrump supporter conference at Trump's Miami resort last week: pic.twitter.com/BVKI5N5a17

— CNN Communications (@CNNPR) October 14, 2019

Now, for the sake of perspective, and to possibly illustrate how disingenuous the network is in regards to violent depictions of this nature, let us look at another reaction they had in the past. The rap star Snoop Dog had a music video in which President Trump was shown killed on screen. CNN was less hysterical. There was no calling it “Vile and horrific”. Instead, all the network could manage was to say the video “stirred controversy”.

Bear in mind, in the meme, a clearly-cartoonish representation of the President shoots the CNN logo. For this, “vile” is the description, but actually showing the death of the President is a “mock execution”, and only some may find it “controversial”. This is as comical as the overreaction can get. More than that, those who are braying the loudest about the supposed dangers of this video have only themselves to blame for people seeing it today.

The New York Times, in its report, gave a dose of half-truth in describing this video as having been displayed for those at the conference. This was not played on a screen in front of an auditorium full of attendees. Reporter C.J. Ciaraamella, from Reason was at the event, and he described the origins of the video.

I was there. There was a room at the conference showing videos by that “carpe donktum” guy. A meme art exhibit I guess. It was empty when I went in. I didn’t see that specific video.

— CJ Ciaramella (@cjciaramella) October 14, 2019

So this was a separate room in which a video display was set up and a collection of meme videos were playing on a loop, and barely anyone was there to witness this “horrific” video. This is how it appeared:

Here’s the room that video played in, for context https://t.co/bkm5ge3Xio

— CJ Ciaramella (@cjciaramella) October 14, 2019

This means the video was not produced by, or with the encouragement of the White House. It was not a formally displayed video by the conference organizers. So the next question needs to be this: How did the New York Times come by this? It seems apparent they had been fed this detail of the video, and gave a veiled description of how those in attendance may have seen it.

This means that the press, which is currently horrified by the nature of this video getting out and inspiring soon-to-be-witnessed violence, are completely outraged about this video being highlighted in the public — by the press. A video of questionable taste that was barely witnessed at the event is now being seen by untold swaths of the public because the NY Times has broadcast its existence. (To say nothing of the fact there there is ZERO concern for potential violence caused by the actual scene from the movie, where dozens of Christians are displayed being brutally murdered.)

For that matter, combing through social media, there is a hilariously large list of journalists who are beside themselves over the threat this poses — as they promote and retweet the existence of this grievous video at the same time.

And just to put a cherry on this sundae of media distemper, we need only to turn to CNN’s media expert, Brian Stelter. In playing a video clip of his appearance where he delivers all of the expected dramatic concern over this video he lets slip a key piece of data.

The violent video showing a fake Trump murdering journalists and lawmakers has been up on YouTube for more than a year. And the video made its way to a pro-Trump conference at Doral last week, per the NYT. pic.twitter.com/uVlWnsLmxz

— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) October 14, 2019

This means that today, journalists across the country are shrieking and barking about the possibility of violence from this video — that has been around for over a year, and has yet to incite any violence. But by golly, if the press highlights this dastardly video often enough this week, maybe they will get lucky and some actual violence will come of it that they can then report on! And, of course, fully blame on the President…

(For thoroughness, here is the cursed meme)