The Carson King Saga

[muttleynfelix]

www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/09/25/carson-king-viral-busch-light-star-old-iowa-reporter-tweets/?outputType=amp&__twitter_impression=true

On September 14, ESPN College Game Day was at the Iowa State-Iowa game in Ames Iowa. Carson King had sign asking for beer money and Venmo account. The next day he had over $1000 given to him. He decides, "I just want a case of beer, I'll donate the rest to the Iowa Children's hospital." He announces that and social media and people go nuts. Busch Beer jumped on board, as did Venmo. They offered to match donations through the end of the month. It was a great feel good story that had raised $2M until yesterday.

The Des Moines Register decided to do a profile on him and researched his background. They found 2 tweets from when he was 16 (he's 24 now) that were racist jokes in response to Tosh.0 (a TV show). They ask Busch Beer for a comment and they decide to "cut ties" with Carson. DmR let Carson know, so he deletes his tweets and holds a press conference ahead of the article. DMR runs the article and then the dumbest explanation of all time. The state has been outraged at them. Then people look into the tweets of the "journalist" and find dozens of racist and offensive tweets from that same time period.

So, what say you YM? Is digging into background of someone's 10 min of fame free game? How do you feel about 8 year old tweets by then teenagers?

[muttleynfelix]

So I feel like I'm being very hypocritical about this, but when I see old athlete tweets (pretty much the only celebrities I pay attention to) that are offensive, I think what idiots, you are a professional athletes (think Josh Hader) But Carson King didn't ask for that. He saw an opportunity to do good and did. Plus it was 2 tweets in response to a TV show. If anything, Busch Beer was using him (Venmo too because I didn't know who they were before this, but they have stuck by their commitment- Busch has too, but otherwise cut ties).

Should DMR just let Carson know about the tweets and let him quietly delete them?
Is it really need worthy? Did it really need to be a saga?

[hoops902]

So I'm from Iowa, so the story is all over the place here.

My thoughts in no particular order:

-Old tweets, old photos, old whatever from people seems largely irrelevant.  People change, they mature, and things which seemed funny or had a context to them at the time may no longer be acceptable (not related to this story, but thinking specifically of things like comedy).  In this case "old" means whatever you want it to mean I suppose, I'm talking 5+ years in my mind?

-The same things, tweets, photos, whatever of people when they are teenagers is also largely irrelevant, even if they didn't occur THAT long ago.  Again, people change, they mature quickly in early years, etc.

-Those same things, tweets, photos, whatever seem to be treated similarly whether someone says "I hate n******" or someone quoting a rap song that happens to use that same word.  Same for other types of words that are not acceptable to use to most of us.  I think there's a pretty significant difference between referencing something in pop culture, and espousing some personal views.  

-To this particular situation, I think it's unseemly to go digging into a non-celebrity's social media.  Given the circumstances around this (it kind of went viral without him really trying to, he doesn't seem at this point to even be trying to make money off of it, he doesn't seem to be seeking public attention, etc).  None of it really seems relevant to why he's "famous"...if something suggested that he was a fraud or something then it might be relevant given how much money is coming his way.  There's certainly something which doesn't sit right with me to say "hey this kid who got randomly famous for a very short period of time and decided to donate all the money to a good cause said some stupid stuff when he was a kid, let's get him!".  He's only in the news because he's helping raise a bunch of money for sick kids.

-I still completely fail to understand how people who have jobs and are adults don't go into every social media account they have and actively scrub away anything which could be seen as even remotely controversial.  These aren't people who posted something, and someone saved it, and now years later it's coming back to haunt them.  These are people (meaning the journalist) who still had the things posted!  

[hoops902]

Sept 25, 2019 16:06:21 GMT -5 muttleynfelix said:

So I feel like I'm being very hypocritical about this, but when I see old athlete tweets (pretty much the only celebrities I pay attention to) that are offensive, I think what idiots, you are a professional athletes (think Josh Hader) But Carson King didn't ask for that. He saw an opportunity to do good and did. Plus it was 2 tweets in response to a TV show. If anything, Busch Beer was using him (Venmo too because I didn't know who they were before this, but they have stuck by their commitment- Busch has too, but otherwise cut ties).

Should DMR just let Carson know about the tweets and let him quietly delete them?
Is it really need worthy? Did it really need to be a saga?

My question was really, "Why the hell was anyone at DMR even looking at his old tweets in an official reporting capacity? How is it relevant to anything happening?"

[Tennesseer]

There are times when its appropriate to let sleeping dogs lie.  This was one of them.  The kids lost. 

[TheOtherMe]

I live in Iowa.  I think the Register and the reporter were wrong.

Carson King has handled this in a very mature manner.  He did call a press conference.  He was 16 years old when he wrote the tweets.  What 16 year old hasn't done something they would no regret?

I am so happy there was not social media when I was a teenager.  My views of many things have changed since I was a teenager.  

Carson King is 24 years old and a home owner.  He holds down a job.  He wanted to be on Gameday and he didn't have any idea his sign would result in all of this attention.  His mother said he sent her a text when his venmo hit $600 and said he was giving the money to the kids.

I've seen the tweets from the reporter.  They are both racist and homophobic.  He has his account locked now but people got snapshots of the tweets before he did that.  

According to the Register, the reporter and the editor had a meeting about whether to include the offensive tweets of Carter's in the story.  IMO, they made the wrong decision.

The Register is already a newspaper in deep financial difficulty.  People are calling and canceling their subscriptions.  

I remember when the Register was the Register and Tribune and put out two newspapers a day.  My parents subscribed to both.  One of my high school friends is a sports reporter at the paper and another friend is a reporter.  I'm sure neither will comment publicly.  The reporter friend has said he can't relate to the reporters because they are all so young.  I think he should have said young and immature.  That was before this came out.

[TheOtherMe]

Venmo is still going to match what Carson raises for the kids through September 30.

Busch Light has capped their donation and cut ties.  I think they were looking for an out because of the amount of money Carson has raised for the kids.

[Deleted]

This story makes me so mad. We're kind of enmeshed with Iowa State right now (until DS changes his mind) and watched the game day and were all rooting for the guy.

I think digging into someone's past, especially their HIGH SCHOOL past just because they'd done something good says a lot more about the one digging. I dont understand what the motivation was? Hey look, this guy isn't perfect? He could have just taken that money and done whatever with it, but he didn't. Can't we just celebrate that part of his life instead of trying to find something bad. It's not like he's running for office somewhere.

I signed some petition yesterday to get the newspaper to apologize, not that it matters now but at least it's something.

[saveinla]

Whoever the reporter is - he has never watched Tosh.0;

[TheOtherMe]

Reporter is Aaron Calvin.  He graduated from Hofstra in 2013.  I'm thinking he isn't much older than Carson King.

Quote from Washington Post www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/09/25/carson-king-viral-busch-light-star-old-iowa-reporter-tweets/

Between 2010 and 2013, Calvin published tweets that used a racist slur for black people, made light of abusing women, used the word “gay” as a pejorative and mocked the legalization of same-sex marriage by saying he was “totally going to marry a horse.” The Register’s statement on Twitter was soon flooded with images of the reporter’s offensive comments.



By late Tuesday night, Calvin began deleting old tweets, and then locked his account early Wednesday morning after posting an apology.

“Hey just wanted to say that I have deleted previous tweets that have been inappropriate or insensitive,” he wrote on Twitter. “I apologize for not holding myself to the same high standards as the Register holds others.”

[Deleted]

[TheOtherMe]

Taking it to Anheuser Busch.  

[Deleted]

This is the world we live in right now, it should be another reminder to everyone to clean up their online presence going back as long as you have had one.

Besides LinkedIn that only lists my work history I am a ghost online. I maintain a fake Facebook profile with no friends so I can comment on various pages and it’s the only way a lot of local businesses communicate.

I would lose my job if something like these tweets were tied back to me and reported to the company.

To quote 2Pac, “Give me the money, F the fame.”

[azucena]

Sept 25, 2019 16:13:48 GMT -5 hoops902 said:

So I'm from Iowa, so the story is all over the place here.

My thoughts in no particular order:

-Old tweets, old photos, old whatever from people seems largely irrelevant.  People change, they mature, and things which seemed funny or had a context to them at the time may no longer be acceptable (not related to this story, but thinking specifically of things like comedy).  In this case "old" means whatever you want it to mean I suppose, I'm talking 5+ years in my mind?

-The same things, tweets, photos, whatever of people when they are teenagers is also largely irrelevant, even if they didn't occur THAT long ago.  Again, people change, they mature quickly in early years, etc.

-Those same things, tweets, photos, whatever seem to be treated similarly whether someone says "I hate n******" or someone quoting a rap song that happens to use that same word.  Same for other types of words that are not acceptable to use to most of us.  I think there's a pretty significant difference between referencing something in pop culture, and espousing some personal views.  

-To this particular situation, I think it's unseemly to go digging into a non-celebrity's social media.  Given the circumstances around this (it kind of went viral without him really trying to, he doesn't seem at this point to even be trying to make money off of it, he doesn't seem to be seeking public attention, etc).  None of it really seems relevant to why he's "famous"...if something suggested that he was a fraud or something then it might be relevant given how much money is coming his way.  There's certainly something which doesn't sit right with me to say "hey this kid who got randomly famous for a very short period of time and decided to donate all the money to a good cause said some stupid stuff when he was a kid, let's get him!".  He's only in the news because he's helping raise a bunch of money for sick kids.

-I still completely fail to understand how people who have jobs and are adults don't go into every social media account they have and actively scrub away anything which could be seen as even remotely controversial.  These aren't people who posted something, and someone saved it, and now years later it's coming back to haunt them.  These are people (meaning the journalist) who still had the things posted!  

I hadn't heard this story, but it's fascinating.

Regarding the bolded, what's even worse is people who post super controversial and even idiotic things today while not being worried about their jobs.  My husband will sometimes make what he views as funny or sarcastic comments on new stories, and I've often asked him to take them down and stop doing it in the first place because I'm linked with him and worried about my own reputation and career.  The risk is too big and as far as I can see there is no reward except to rile up strangers.

[wvugurl26]

I do think it's ridiculous to be digging into one's background that far back. When I did my first background investigation for my job, they couldn't go back the normal 10 years. They were not allowed to look at anything prior to me turning 18.

I would hope people mature and make better decisions. A 16 year old's brain isn't fully formed. What if that's how he was raised and he's learned better as an adult? It is a great reminder to delete all old stuff.

[TheOtherMe]

The IRS had a hard time with my first background check because I was 17 when I started.  All I know they did was talk to neighbors.

When I was promoted to the professional ranks, they did another background check.

We told our new hires on the very first day to list every thing they had ever done that might be found after the age of 18.  Life wasn't digital then so I don't know if the governments looks at your online presence.

I do now all three of my nephews have very limited FB presence since college.  They also took down the stupid drunk photos before they started job hunting for real jobs.  They realized that stuff didn't belong there.  

It will be interesting to see if the reporter keeps his job.

[Deleted]

It is pretty ironic that a Bush Light would be calling out 16 year olds making poor decisions.  That's probably half their customer base. 

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

I think it's ridiculous, this reporter was trying to make a name for himself.   Carson didn't ask to be famous and he didn't ask for the money.   He could have done all sorts of things with it but instead gave it to kids with cancer.  Do we REALLY need to go after him over a dumb ass post when he was 16?

I find it deliciously ironic the reporter is now in trouble for his own tweets, maybe don't throw stones when you live in a glass house.

I am also extremely glad social media hadn't really taken off yet when I was young and dumb.  

[Deleted]

Sept 26, 2019 13:32:26 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

I am also extremely glad social media hadn't really taken off yet when I was young and dumb.  

Right?  OMG.  The stupid stuff I did from 14 to 19.  Who needs that thrown back in their face?   I'm also lucky I wasn't arrested or killed a few times.  

[swamp]

Sept 26, 2019 13:22:17 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

It is pretty ironic that a Bush Light would be calling out 16 year olds making poor decisions.  That's probably half their customer base. 

Drinking Busch Lite is a poor decision itself.   No matter how old you are. 

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

Sept 26, 2019 13:37:41 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

Sept 26, 2019 13:32:26 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

I am also extremely glad social media hadn't really taken off yet when I was young and dumb.  

Right?  OMG.  The stupid stuff I did from 14 to 19.  Who needs that thrown back in their face?   I'm also lucky I wasn't arrested or killed a few times.  

I didn't do a lot of stupid stuff but looking back I know I've said a lot of dumb stuff out of ignorance.   At 36 I am much more informed and aware.  I would not appreciate someone throwing something 20+ years old in my face.   At least discuss it with me to see if I have changed.

[hoops902]

Sept 26, 2019 13:32:26 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

I think it's ridiculous, this reporter was trying to make a name for himself.   Carson didn't ask to be famous and he didn't ask for the money.   He could have done all sorts of things with it but instead gave it to kids with cancer.  Do we REALLY need to go after him over a dumb ass post when he was 16?

I find it deliciously ironic the reporter is now in trouble for his own tweets, maybe don't throw stones when you live in a glass house.

I am also extremely glad social media hadn't really taken off yet when I was young and dumb.  

So just to clarify a few things (because you may know the story, but others apparently don't).  He kind of DID ask for the money.  He held up a sign on GameDay asking for money for beer.  Then when it got be a few hundred dollars he announced that he was going to give it to the UofI children's hospital...which is how he got THAT much money to give to kids (2 million or whatever it is now).  So it's a great fundraiser, but it's also not like he was ever going to get anywhere near the kind of money he's raised now if he hadn't committed to donating it.  

He certainly could have just pocketed a few hundred bucks if he wanted to.

[hoops902]

Sept 26, 2019 13:39:47 GMT -5 swamp said:

Sept 26, 2019 13:22:17 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

It is pretty ironic that a Bush Light would be calling out 16 year olds making poor decisions.  That's probably half their customer base. 

Drinking Busch Lite is a poor decision itself.   No matter how old you are. 

I'm surprised there hasn't been a newspaper article exploring that, why he was asking to "replenish his Busch Light supply" in the first place.  He clearly had a troubled past if he'd resorted to Busch Light.

[TheOtherMe]

Sept 26, 2019 13:46:38 GMT -5 hoops902 said:

Sept 26, 2019 13:32:26 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

I think it's ridiculous, this reporter was trying to make a name for himself.   Carson didn't ask to be famous and he didn't ask for the money.   He could have done all sorts of things with it but instead gave it to kids with cancer.  Do we REALLY need to go after him over a dumb ass post when he was 16?

I find it deliciously ironic the reporter is now in trouble for his own tweets, maybe don't throw stones when you live in a glass house.

I am also extremely glad social media hadn't really taken off yet when I was young and dumb.  

So just to clarify a few things (because you may know the story, but others apparently don't).  He kind of DID ask for the money.  He held up a sign on GameDay asking for money for beer.  Then when it got be a few hundred dollars he announced that he was going to give it to the UofI children's hospital...which is how he got THAT much money to give to kids (2 million or whatever it is now).  So it's a great fundraiser, but it's also not like he was ever going to get anywhere near the kind of money he's raised now if he hadn't committed to donating it.  

He certainly could have just pocketed a few hundred bucks if he wanted to.

He asked for beer money, but I don't think he ever thought it would get so much money.  That is the reason he decided to donate it to the University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital.  

No, he would not have raised the kind of money he did if he had not announced the money will be donated but that still doesn't mean the Register should have done a story on him that contained the two tweets from when he was 16 years old.  

Especially when the article was written by a reporter who has many, many racist and homophobic tweets.  

[hoops902]

Sept 26, 2019 17:19:26 GMT -5 TheOtherMe said:

Sept 26, 2019 13:46:38 GMT -5 hoops902 said:

So just to clarify a few things (because you may know the story, but others apparently don't).  He kind of DID ask for the money.  He held up a sign on GameDay asking for money for beer.  Then when it got be a few hundred dollars he announced that he was going to give it to the UofI children's hospital...which is how he got THAT much money to give to kids (2 million or whatever it is now).  So it's a great fundraiser, but it's also not like he was ever going to get anywhere near the kind of money he's raised now if he hadn't committed to donating it.  

He certainly could have just pocketed a few hundred bucks if he wanted to.

He asked for beer money, but I don't think he ever thought it would get so much money.  That is the reason he decided to donate it to the University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital.  

No, he would not have raised the kind of money he did if he had not announced the money will be donated but that still doesn't mean the Register should have done a story on him that contained the two tweets from when he was 16 years old.  

Especially when the article was written by a reporter who has many, many racist and homophobic tweets.  

He asked for beer money, but he only got a few hundred bucks for beer money.  I don't think the paper should have done the article.  I was just pointing out that he did in fact ask for money...that's what started the whole thing.  And to me at least, there's a different perception of what's happening if you think his random beer money sign could have landed him a million or more just from going viral...and the fact that he only got any amount of significant money because people knew it was going to the children's hospital.  

To me that's kind of a dividing line in whether it makes sense for the register to do the story.  If it's just "the money is going directly to him and he has an option to keep the money" then it makes more sense for a newspaper to be like "look who you're giving money to, he was saying racist stuff" compared to what's actually happening which is him essentially asking people to donate money to the children's hospital where he has no option of keeping it.  

It also makes it fairly easy for any company to cut ties with him.  They can just donate directly to the hospital in their own name and without involving him if they want to.  That's why it's clear that anyone who tied their name to him was really doing so for their own marketing purposes.  They wanted exposure when it was a good story, when there came additional potential risk due to the social media, it's super easy to cut ties if they want (and as such, there's far more risk with a national brand getting a bad rep than there is for a smaller brand who can come in later and latch on to the free publicity).

[TheOtherMe]

The reporter has been fired.  IMO, he asked for it.

Apparently, Anheuser Busch had learned of the two tweets and was cutting ties with Carson before the Register story ran.  So they wanted out and got out.

The cynic in me says they wanted out because the matching was getting too high.

[muttleynfelix]

The real cynic thinks Busch paid the Register to dig that deep.

[hoops902]

Sept 27, 2019 13:43:11 GMT -5 muttleynfelix said:

The real cynic thinks Busch paid the Register to dig that deep.

Did they really "dig that deep"?  They just looked at his old tweets.  Hardly investigative journalism (even though that sometimes seems to pass for it these days).

[thyme4change]

Reading 5 - 10 years worth of one person's tweets would be pretty agonizing. Especially if more than half of them were from a teenager. Maybe they just have a bot that searches for key words?

[TheOtherMe]