Alan White Laughs At Leaked Confidential CEN Fake News Alert From MailOnline Editor

This 31 July 2015 email shows Karl Smith, using a MailOnline / Associated Newspapers email address, forwarding Alan White a confidential CEN “Fake News Alert” under the subject line “CEN lolz”. The alert was a client-facing note offering free warnings about viral stories identified by CEN correspondents as fake or recycled, including examples from China and the Spanish-speaking world. It also carried a confidentiality notice stating that the email and attachments were intended only for the named addressee and should not be copied, used or disclosed to anyone else. Alan White replies with a long “hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha”. The document is significant because it is another clear example of confidential CEN client material being passed from MailOnline / Associated Newspapers to BuzzFeed after publication of the CEN article, and then treated mockingly rather than as a confidential communication from a commercial rival and CEN client. It is closely related to the later or fuller branch involving Janine Gibson, but this version is useful because it captures the direct Karl Smith-to-Alan White leak and White’s immediate reaction.

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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