[BunnySlippers]

The other emails *were* confirmed as coming from the kidnappers. This one wasn't.

The other emails could just as easily been faked. Regardless, the premise of this thread is that CNN stated ... STATED that Danny Pearl was dead. That is not true. They did not say Pearl was dead. A little reading comprehension goes a long way.

[spycatcher]

Here you go BunnySlippery, I linked a course for you to take here... As you said, a little reading comprehension goes a long way You may want to see if they also offer an email comprehension course for your CNN reporter friends. They should have some time on their hands soon.

Don't forget, if the original report was so innocent, it would still be on CNN's site. But they replaced it, and quickly flushed the goof down the memory hole. There's really no debate that they screwed up since they're now admitting the email never should have been taken seriously and it looked like a complete hoax from the start.

[Lancey Howard]

I get your point but I think you're off base here.
From what you are saying, CNN could report, "We have just received an email notifying us that Sid Blumenthal has committed suicide after being arrested for lewd conduct with up to twenty boys, ranging in age from 4 to 10 years old", and it would be okay because they are only reporting that they received an email.

Actually, I think that Walter Isaacson is steering the CNN ship in the right direction. As far as the piling on here at FR goes, well CNN has a long way to go to pay for its disgusting Rick Kaplan / Ted Turner legacy. Walter has his work cut out for him.

[wretchard]

Regarding the veracity of emails: emails contain header information, which contains a list of servers they have passed en route from the sender to the destination.

If you are using Outlook, you can view a header by opening a message and choosing the View/Options menu. You will see the internet header. That is one point of comparison. The other is the inclusion of a code word, which is then subsequently used to indicate the emails come from the same source.

The most sophisticated way is to digitally sign the email, which means it is encrypted with a private key. The reader can use a public key to open it. But only the holder of the correct starting private key can encrypt it in this way. If the email is digitally signed, you can verify its provenance with certainty.

This doesn't bear on the CNN's justication, one way or the other. It just show how a given email can be confirmed.