Leak-Check: Stratfor's CEO Has Not Resigned
Allow me to state the obvious: Sometimes a so-called “leaked email” is just a bunch of words someone posted on the Internet.
Several news sites are reporting that George Friedman, the chief executive of the private intelligence firm Stratfor has resigned following WikiLeaks announcement that it had obtained millions of the firm’s emails and published the first batch Sunday night in a release it’s calling the “Global Intelligence Files.” Those reports of the CEO’s resignation are sourced to the text of a purported email not included in WikiLeaks’ release but instead posted to the publishing platform Pastebin.
“Please rest assured that this decision was not an easy. [sic] But in the light of the recent events, especially the release of our company emails by WikiLeaks, I have decided that stepping down is in the best interest of Stratfor and its customer base,” the text reads.