A Russian technology executive has sued BuzzFeed and its editor Ben Smith for publishing the unverified Trump dossier, calling it “perhaps one of the most reckless and irresponsible moments in modern ‘journalism.'”
Within hours of the lawsuit’s filing, BuzzFeed blacked out the name of Aleksej Gubarev in the dossier on its site and apologized.
“We have redacted Mr. Gubarev’s name from the published dossier, and apologize for including it,” BuzzFeed spokesman Matt Mittenthal told CNNMoney.
Aleksej Gubarev is the CEO of XBT, a company that hosts websites and runs thousands of computer servers worldwide.
The lawsuit claims that the anti-Trump dossier, put together by a former British intelligence operative, falsely alleged that Gubarev was “recruited under duress by the FSB” and became a “significant player” in the Russian government operation to hack the Democratic National Committee.
Gubarev filed a separate lawsuit in the United Kingdom against Christopher Steele, the former MI6 agent who, multiple sources tell CNN, compiled controversial opposition research against Donald Trump.
In it, the Russian executive claims Steele was “prepared to tarnish” him “without… conducting even the most basic attempt at verification.”
Although several news organizations had obtained the 35 pages of memos, BuzzFeed was the only one to publish them in full.
Join GhanaStar.com to receive daily email alerts of breaking news in Ghana. GhanaStar.com is your source for all Ghana News. Get the latest Ghana news, breaking news, sports, politics, entertainment and more about Ghana, Africa and beyond.