Assistant Managing Editor of Fortune Leigh Gallagher, Carolyn Everson and Eric Braverman attend the Fortune 40 under 40 event in 2010. Braverman was the source of rumors about the Clinton Foundation and Russian asylum, but he’s fine. (Getty)
Eric Braverman was the source of many rumors on social media, but he has resurfaced with news about a new job, along with a number of tweets on social media. The rumors that Braverman was missing were apparently wrong. He appears to be just fine and has not said anything publicly about the rumors that were circulating about him online.
Here’s what you need to know.
Braverman has resurfaced on Twitter following the announcement that he has a new job. Many people were waiting to see if he would show up for a class he teaches at Yale, but he made an appearance sooner than expected.
BizJournals reported that Braverman, the former CEO of the Clinton Foundation, was “hired to oversee the non-investment side of the family office of Alphabet Inc. Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt and his wife, Wendy.” Alphabet is a multinational conglomerate founded on October 2015 by the founders of Google. It’s the parent company of Google.
Since the announcement, Braverman has been busy on Twitter, where he wasn’t seen since October.
Thrilled to join @ericschmidt, @wenschmidt, and an amazing team as we bring the power of people and technology together to improve lives.
He’s been retweeting congratulations about his new job and sharing news articles about his position.
The rumors that he was “missing” and had sought asylum with Russia started from a questionable source, but they spread like wildfire on the Internet anyway. His absence from Twitter fueled those rumors, but he had never been a frequent Twitter user before.
The source of the original rumor, which was copied and pasted by numerous sources, was a site called WhatDoesItMean.com, written by “Sorcha Faal and as reported to her Western Subscribers.” However, “Sorcha Faal” had a history of posting articles that make outrageous or sensationalistic claims with little to back them up. Even back in 2007, the conspiracy-focused forum Above Top Secret approached Sorcha Faal stories with skepticism.
Braverman does have an interesting history of his own. He was once considered the possible source of an anonymous statement made to Ron Fournier “to follow the money” and find the real Hillary Clinton scandal, according to an email exchange leaked by WikiLeaks. John Podesta suggested that Braverman might be that anonymous source. However, Neera Tanden questioned if that was really the case and they later decided it wasn’t likely.
Braverman was brought on as CEO of the Clinton Foundation, but he only lasted about 18 months. Politico wrote an in-depth story about his tenure with a story headlined: “Eric Braverman Tried to Change the Clinton Foundation. Then He Quit.” Politico reported that his exit was partially due to a power struggle inside the foundation. At the time that he joined, there were many concerns about the Foundation’s fundraising efforts.
Some suggested Braverman was the source of the Podesta leaks, but this was not possible. Braverman resigned from the Foundation in January 2015, and the leaks lasted long after he was gone. He could not have been the source of the leaks. Intelligence officials have suggested the leaks came from Russian hackers, but Julian Assange has denied that claim and said Russia was not involved.
