Ben Smith reveals why BuzzFeed published the 'explosive' Trump reports

Following BuzzFeed's publication of a dossier containing unverified allegations about Donald Trump's ties to Russia, the site's editor-in-chief has explained the controversial decision.

Given it contains numerous claims about the president-elect's personal and financial ties to Russia that have not yet been confirmed, the decision to publish the documents is highly unusual. BuzzFeed itself notes errors in the dossier and does not name the former British intelligence agent who compiled it for Trump's political opponents.

In a staff email, which he posted on Twitter, Ben Smith wrote that while many may disagree with the site's choice to share it publicly, BuzzFeed has "always erred on the side of publishing."

"In this case, the document was in wide circulation at the highest levels of American government and media," he added. "Publishing this dossier reflects how we see the job of reporters in 2017." Several journalists and government officials had the documents for weeks, even months in some cases.

Trump later tweeted "fake news -- a total political witch hunt!"

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After months of debate about the impact of fake news on the 2016 election, many pundits tweeted their skepticism about sharing a document containing potentially explosive, yet unsubstantiated allegations.

For many, the question was whether such documents should be shared publicly without evidence. Others noted that a summary of the dossier had already been shared with the president and president-elect by the intelligence community, as reported earlier Tuesday by CNN -- a fact that could potentially justify it being shared with the public.

According to CNN, intelligence officials found the ex-British spy "credible enough" to present some of the findings to the president and president-elect. The FBI was also investigating the allegations, CNN reported.

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Mother Jones reported in October the existence of a dossier compiled by a "veteran spy" that was shared with the FBI before the election. According to the Guardian on Tuesday, Sen. John McCain passed material compiled "by a former western counter-intelligence official" to FBI director James Comey in December.

As CNN noted about the information shared with Obama and Trump, "The two-page synopsis also included allegations that there was a continuing exchange of information during the campaign between Trump surrogates and intermediaries for the Russian government, according to two national security officials."

Besides BuzzFeed, other outlets have only alluded generally to the dossier's content. David Corn, the author of the Mother Jones article, tweeted, "For those asking, I didn't publish the full memos from the intelligence operative because I could not confirm the allegations."

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Given sensitivity about fake news, the furore over BuzzFeed's decision to publish is likely to continue.

Smith also shared a link Tuesday evening to a post on the Lawfare blog that laid out some of the questions raised by publishing the full dossier, calling it "smart and thoughtful."

The blog post notes that the president and president-elect do not get briefed on material "that the intelligence community does not believe to be at least of some credibility."

"Because it is being taken seriously, it is--despite being unproven and, in public anyway, undiscussed--pervasively affecting the broader discussion of Russian hacking of the election," it continues.

It's worth noting, that while the dossier contains unconfirmed allegations about Trump and members of his staff's continued ties to Russia, the conversation on social media has mostly centred on its more salacious detail. Without verification of its claims, the public is given next to no guidance on how to understand the dossier.

Smith has advised extreme caution about fake news in the past. In an end-of-2016 staff memo, he warned that the threat of fake news will become "more sophisticated."

"Ambiguous and spun-up stories will spread widely," he wrote. "Hoaxes will have higher production value."