Source Library Central European News & Mike Leidig v BuzzFeed (US Second Circuit Libel Case) – BF Case DocumentsCraig Silverman Says Verification Still Requires Talking To Sources But Then Doesn't Do it.

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Craig Silverman Says Verification Still Requires Talking To Sources But Then Doesn't Do it.

This document is a 3 February 2015 email exchange between Craig Silverman and Dr Neal Krawetz of Hacker Factor, with the subject “Re: For Emergent”, following discussion about image verification and possible quotes for use by Silverman. It is included in the Source Library as source/evidence material connected to Silverman’s verification work, Emergent, and the wider BuzzFeed/CEN case. It records Silverman saying that in verification training “the first thing” he mentions is that “you still have to, you know, talk to the source”, joking immediately afterwards: “What? Talk to people? But that’s so old tech.” It is relevant because it captures the central contradiction in the CEN investigation: Silverman clearly understood that real verification requires source contact, yet the CEN work being assembled around Emergent relied heavily on online traces, Google searches, translation tools, image comparisons, outside debunkers and “truthiness” ratings rather than direct reporting from the people and institutions involved.

Source

Part of Central European News & Mike Leidig v BuzzFeed (US Second Circuit Libel Case) – BF Case Documents

Europe Media Published 1 May 2026 at 21:09 Source: 1 November 2016

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BuzzFeedCENCentral European NewsCraig SilvermanNeal KrawetzHacker FactorEmergentFotoForensicsverificationsource contactimage verificationTow CenterColumbia Universityonline debunkingtruthinesssource evidence

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Craig Silverman Says Verification Still Requires Talking To Sources But Then Doesn't Do it. — Central European News & Mike Leidig v BuzzFeed (US Second Circuit Libel Case) – BF Case Documents