'Reporter' Plays the Victim After Freedom Convoy Donors He Contacted Tell Him to Shove It (Updated)

We reported earlier on how so-called “journalists” and other media figures lit into Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) (yes, Ilhan Omar) Wednesday over her surprising defense of the privacy of Freedom Convoy donors after stories from the Ottawa Citizen, the Washington Post, and other “news” outlets were published using the information on private citizens that was illegally obtained by a self-confessed hacker and posted online.

Many of the responses from blue-check “journalists” revolved around the fact that though the information was supposed to have been kept private rather than land in the hands of hackers, it was nevertheless out there so why not take a peak and harass a few private citizens in the process?

The hacked information being repeatedly used in stories from supposedly “reputable” media organizations has sparked outrage and debate over the appropriateness of including it in articles about the convoy and the alleged nefarious motivations of the truckers.

In particular, many on the right and other privacy advocates have taken serious issue with the fact that most of the donors who are being targeted by the media including by state-funded reporters in Canada are Average Janes and Joes who made small donations, have no public profile, and wished to remain anonymous.

But for some so-called “political correspondents,” the real issue here is not whether or not it’s right for them to be badgering folks over a simple donation to a non-violent cause. The real issue in their view is how the people they’re contacting are responding to them. Such was the case with Salt Lake Tribune reporter Bryan Schott, who played the victim on the Twitter machine after apparently being told to shove it (“to put it mildly”) by many of the Utah donors he attempted to talk to. Here’s what he said in a now-deleted tweet:

This tweet was deleted, but screengrabs are forever. pic.twitter.com/bWTL5rcieE

— Sister Toldjah 😁 (@sistertoldjah) February 17, 2022

I mean, what the hell did he expect? According to some reports, the people he’s calling donated as little as $50. Understandably, they simply want to be left alone and not bullied and have their entire life story put out there (not to mention have their family put in harm’s way) by journos with a false narrative to push:

EXCLUSIVE: The Salt Lake Tribune is now using the GiveSendGo hacked data to reach out to donors who gave as little as $50. This is harassment. This is not journalism. pic.twitter.com/wbeN193eDJ

— Libs of Tik Tok (@libsoftiktok) February 17, 2022

Trust in the media is at an all-time low, and it can’t be attributed solely to conservatives. A sizable chunk of independents are also fed-up with the skewed reporting and bad-faith actors in the press. And yet after all the public discussions and debate in the journalism industry over the last several years about how to go about winning back that trust, we STILL have people like Schott who reach for the fainting couches when someone dares call them out for what they are and what they’re doing.

Here’s a thought, inspired by my esteemable colleague and fellow media analyst Brad Slager: If you don’t want to be treated like an “enemy of the people” then maybe stop acting like it?

Update: This piece was updated after publishing to include a screengrab of the original tweet, which Schott deleted. He has since clarified and apologized. Sort of.