Published SourceSource / Evidence Document

Craig Silverman Asks BuzzFeed Staffer Who Cannot Read Chinese To Check CEN Kidnap Story

This document is a 17 February 2015 BuzzFeed email with the subject “If you get chance...”, in which Craig Silverman sent Tanya Chen links to a Mirror/Metro story about a Chinese banker accused of kidnapping a woman as a future wife and asked her to check whether it was true. It is included in the Source Library as source/evidence material connected to the BuzzFeed/CEN case and the continuing attempt to test Chinese CEN-linked stories through online searches rather than direct reporting. It records Silverman saying that the version CEN sold appeared to include “a lot of inaccuracies”, while relying on help from a BuzzFeed colleague who had already made clear in earlier correspondence that she could not properly read or translate written Chinese. It is relevant because it helps document a recurring weakness in the investigation: serious conclusions about Chinese-source stories were being pursued through indirect online checks, translation limitations and internal BuzzFeed assistance rather than through direct contact with original sources, local reporters, police, witnesses or the people 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

Tags

BuzzFeedCENCentral European NewsCraig SilvermanTanya ChenChinese storykidnapped womanbankerMirrorMetrolanguage gapMandarinonline verificationGoogle Translatesource evidencedisclosurefake news narrativeverification weakness

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Reference / Evidence Only — not licensed for reuse

Credit: newsX

These documents are made available as source material connected to the Central European News and Mike Leidig v BuzzFeed libel proceedings and the related book. They are provided for reference, research, and evidential context only. No reuse licence is granted by the uploader, and any further use is the responsibility of the person using the material.

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