BuzzFeed News published an unverified claim about ties between President-elect Donald Trump and the Russian government, triggering a debate about ethics in journalism.
The claim came in the form of a 35-page document that carries spurious allegations. It was compiled by an unnamed source who claimed to be a former U.K. intelligence officer hired by Trump’s opponents, and it had been circulated among journalists who had declined to publish information on it. Intelligence officials presented a two-page summary of the allegations to Trump and President Barack Obama, according to CNN on Tuesday.
CNN didn’t include specific allegations contained in the dossier, saying its reporters couldn’t independently verify the claims.
But an hour later, BuzzFeed posted the claims without verifying them. Right after that, left-leaning clickbait websites jumped on the allegations and focused on the most sordid aspects of the document.
“BuzzFeed News is publishing the full document so that Americans can make up their own minds about allegations about the president-elect that have circulated at the highest levels of the US government,” BuzzFeed wrote of the document in a break from standard journalistic practice to verify claims before publishing them.
