Alan White Accidentally Copies Mike Leidig Into Internal BuzzFeed Reply After Lawyer’s Letter

This email chain shows BuzzFeed’s internal reaction after Mike Leidig’s lawyers responded to BuzzFeed shortly before publication of the CEN article. The significance is that Alan White replied internally in a gung-ho and dismissive tone, but accidentally copied Leidig into the exchange. Heidi Blake then spotted the mistake and warned White, while reassuring him that it did not matter too much. The document is useful because it captures the tone and handling of the final pre-publication stage after BuzzFeed had received a legal response: rather than prompting a more cautious reassessment, the lawyer’s letter appears to have been met internally with bravado, followed by concern only when the tone was accidentally exposed to the subject of the article. It therefore adds to the right-to-reply and fairness record by showing how BuzzFeed discussed CEN and Leidig after legal objections had already been raised, and how quickly an internal editorial/legal posture could become visible through a careless copy-in.

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