Fall Out From The Des Moines Register’s Twitter Trolling

Just a follow-up to The Des Moines Register‘s decision to Twitter troll Carson King and “reporting” on two racially insensitive tweets from when he was 16-years-old.

Donations for his fundraiser to the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital are up, reaching $1.37 Million.

The Des Moines Register has lost 14,000 likes (corrected, my original figure was much, much higher, but I had the wrong information. I apologize for the error) on their Facebook page at the time of this writing and they continue to bleed followers.

Their decision to report on this has unified Democrats, Republicans, conservatives, liberals, libertarians, and members of the media in opposition to their editorial decision.

Some examples:

Bipartisan agreement….

Geneseo Brewing Company stepped up when Anheuser-Busch ran away:

Smokey Row Coffee also stepped up:

The Des Moines Register reporter, Aaron Calvin, has been called out nationally for his own inappropriate tweets (he has since sanitized and made his account private). Apparently, The Des Moines Register only does “routine background checks” that includes Twitter trolling for people they report on, not their employees. Calvin’s tweets, in my opinion, are even worse. The Des Moines Register says they are investigating. There’s no need since the internet did that for them.

The Washington Post reported on Calvin’s tweets which were made as an adult, not as a 16-year-old. Heavy.com also profiled Calvin. Fox News ran a piece.

Much was made of Calvin’s slurs toward homosexuals and use of the “N word,” tweeted in 2013, but a 2016 tweet also jumped out when he basically tweeted, “f*ck evangelicals.”

Here’s a screenshot:

Then to top it off, Governor Kim Reynolds declared Saturday “Carson King Day” on Wednesday afternoon.

Here’s the text of the proclamation:

WHEREAS, volunteerism and selflessness defines Iowans by nature. Because in Iowa, individuals like Carson King demonstrate how Iowa Nice isn’t just a slogan, but our way of life; and

WHEREAS, Carson King can showcase who we are as a people, not only by selflessly donating to a worthy cause, but spreading the message of generosity. Because of his efforts, over $1 million and counting has gone towards the renowned University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital in Iowa City; and 

WHEREAS, Carson King continues to be a force for change, stating he’s working to raise $2 million for the hospital before September 30th; and

WHEREAS, the Carson King Story embodies a young man’s ability to help a cause greater than himself and can serve as a model for others to follow; and

WHEREAS, Carson King has shown that one person can make a difference and one person can make positive change even through the unlikeliest of ways:

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Kim Reynolds, Governor of the State of Iowa, do hereby proclaim September 28th, 2019 as Carson King Day in the State of Iowa and thank him for his contributions to the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital, Iowa children, and their families.

I doubt this was in reaction to what the Des Moines Register did, but the timing was impeccable.

Needless to say it has not been a good day for the Register.