As Twitchy reported Wednesday, counterprotesters showed up at that Netflix walkout over Dave Chappelle’s comedy special, “The Closer.” As we showed you, protesters destroyed Vito Gesualdi’s “We Like Dave” sign and then claimed he had a weapon when he was left with nothing but a stick. He was bodied out of the crowd and had a tambourine shaken in his face to shut him up.
“Comedian and videographer Vito Gesualdi screams profanities as he engages with peaceful protesters begging him to leave,” read the AP photo caption, which was then picked up by other news outlets. “Oh great, it’s a stock Associated Press photo caption so that lie is on dozens of news sites now,” Gesualdi tweeted, noting that those peaceful protesters destroyed his sign and tackled his buddy to the concrete.
Jesse Singal has looked into the AP’s caption too.
1/ This AP photo caption reads "Comedian and videographer Vito Gesualdi screams profanities as he engages with peaceful protesters begging him to leave." A damaging claim about @VitoGesualdi, circulated globally.
It never happened. Join me on some basic photo-trutherism. pic.twitter.com/olZDOtuZTw
— Jesse Singal (@jessesingal) October 21, 2021
2/ The photo is very distinctive :
-someone holding tambourine with two hands and blue plaid sleeves
-Gesualdi holding two hands up
-photographer in green shirt back and to his left pic.twitter.com/dJf2VmxFdY
— Jesse Singal (@jessesingal) October 21, 2021
3/ Anyone who has been too online the last day-plus already recognizes the tambourine from the protester who has a "REPENT, MOTHERFUCKER!!!" meltdown after protesters destroy Gesualdi's sign in this viral video.https://t.co/tBFkoEqgXK
— Jesse Singal (@jessesingal) October 21, 2021
4/ So now all we need are those two other bits — Gesualdi holding up both hands with Green Shirt photographer behind him and to his left.
Aaaaaaaaaaand there it is. Not 100% to the millisecond because I'm too lazy but this is undoubtedly the moment in question. pic.twitter.com/6cU8K9sTqF
— Jesse Singal (@jessesingal) October 21, 2021
5/ Is Gesualdi "scream[ing] profanit[ies]?
"I'm just here to say that jokes are funny, people. Dave Chappelle's a funny guy. I love Dave! I don't know why all the violence, I don't know why all the hate. I just LOVE DAVE CHAPPELLE! DAAAAAVE CHAPPEEEELLE! WOOOOO!"
No, he is not!
— Jesse Singal (@jessesingal) October 21, 2021
6/ This is insane.
I know that you need very specific things in place to build a libel case in the U.S. but there's a "reckless disregard for the truth " concept that is probably pretty useful here!
Here's backup of the video if it's pulled: https://t.co/kUjF7TB81S
Fin.
— Jesse Singal (@jessesingal) October 21, 2021
7/ I did reach out to the photographer via Twitter DM and to the AP itself, but I decided to go ahead with the tweetstorm because that is 100% the moment in question and everything Gesualdi says is audible enough to know, with certainly, that the caption is inaccurate.
— Jesse Singal (@jessesingal) October 21, 2021
8/ Oh and I don't want to give the impression I was the first to notice this — it got some coverage earlier today, including from Gesualdi himself. I do think this is the first thread to point out that it's clearly from that exact moment, but I could be wrong.
— Jesse Singal (@jessesingal) October 21, 2021
9/ As a final point, with trust in media at an all-time low you should probably invest most of your savings in independent media and podcast subscriptions, is my objective opinion.
— Jesse Singal (@jessesingal) October 21, 2021
Did the person who wrote the caption watch the video? It’s very possible they didn’t — big media tends to compartmentalize jobs, which is why writers so often point out that they don’t write their headlines.
Sue their asses.
— Freedom Variant (@JimRoseAF) October 21, 2021
This is so dark
— Nellie Bowles (@NellieBowles) October 21, 2021
It’s outrageous. What happened there isn’t the least bit unclear
— broke (@brokeherr) October 21, 2021
Covington 2.0. Homeboy should lawyer up and get paid
— Taulbe (@jtjaspr) October 21, 2021
Let's not overlook the fact that the protesters who destroyed his sign & then falsely accused him of brandishing a weapon are described as "peaceful"
— Just Dandy (@RudelyStamped) October 21, 2021
Less peaceful protester, more agent provocateur in that circumstance.
— Edele Mancini (@EdeleMancini) October 21, 2021
“Peaceful protesters”:
It never happened. Quite the opposite.https://t.co/ChsX0pP3Cp
— 😶 (@thatperson836) October 21, 2021
Yeah, and "peaceful protesters" who grabbed and destroyed the guy's sign moments earlier. No way the protesters' camp would accept such a descriptor if the shoe had been on the other foot.
— Ideomachy (@ideomachy) October 21, 2021
Then shouted “he’s got a weapon!” to instigate violence against him.
— Tsukkomi Variant (@ljenkins314) October 21, 2021
Hey @AP, you wanna maybe correct this? Very disappointing.
— SoluKat 🟨🟧🟥 (@SoluKat) October 21, 2021
Yeah. That’s a libel suit waiting to happen.
— Gwenbors (@Gwenbors1) October 21, 2021
Vito please sue @AP
— Eric (@emann28210) October 21, 2021
@AP I heard the audio and at no point did @VitoGesualdi scream profanities. Can you please correct ?
— RGB1789 (@viewthenews1029) October 21, 2021
We’ve all seen the video. He was the mildest protester ever.
— Anaspia (@Anaspiauk) October 21, 2021
And AP is supposed to be the gold standard for dry, non-agenda-driven, objective journalism.
— Infernum, non alii sed ipse est (@LFriszt) October 21, 2021
This is flat-out libel, pure and simple, and the AP should pay a fortune to make this right. This is despicable "journalism," or, rather, utterly corrupt agitprop masquerading as journalism. It is vile. It is inexcusable. @brithume @ShannonBream
— Quin Hillyer (@QuinHillyer) October 21, 2021
I'd be suing. Seriously.
— Slee (@sleethestak) October 21, 2021
If not a single editor is fired over this then @AP is willfully neglecting its duty to the public.
— blergh, PhD (@obsolutdisgrace) October 21, 2021
Hopefully, with enough backlash, the AP will at least issue a correction.
Is this like the reign whipping that never happened?
— TheIndependentProg (@ProgIndependent) October 21, 2021
* * *
Update:
The AP has issued a correction, removing “profanities” and “peaceful.”
Read how ridiculous this Associated Press retraction is pic.twitter.com/GMs0azZy5e
— YOUTUBE.COM / VITO (@VitoGesualdi) October 21, 2021
Worth noting that my co-host Dick Masterson is currently at the hospital getting a CT scan after having his head bounced against a concrete planter by these "peaceful protestors"https://t.co/AOzMEuIEkM
— YOUTUBE.COM / VITO (@VitoGesualdi) October 21, 2021
Related:
‘Shades of Covington here’: Check out Variety’s ‘blatant, purposeful and pure lie’ about Dave Chappelle fan’s encounter with anti-Netflix protesters https://t.co/VvssHAHRfS
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) October 21, 2021
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