Fact check: Post mischaracterizes old CIA comments on …
The claim: Former CIA director admits plan for geoengineering and ‘chemtrails’
An April 5 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) features a video of former CIA Director John Brennan giving a speech.
“Geoengineering,” reads the text in the video. “No longer a conspiracy theory. CIA Director admits plans for geoengineering aka chemtrails.”
The post garnered more than 200 shares in five days. Other versions of the claim are circulating on TikTok and Telegram.
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Our rating: False
The video does not show Brennan admitting to the existence of a CIA plan to use geoengineering technology. Instead, it shows Brennan speaking in 2016 about the foreign policy implications of emerging geoengineering technology. The posts also erroneously equate geoengineering technologies, which aren’t yet in use, with “chemtrails,” a conspiracy theory concept that never existed.
Post mischaracterizes 2016 speech by CIA director
There are no credible news reports of Brennan announcing a CIA plan to use geoengineering technology. And the video provides no evidence to support the claim.
Instead, the video shows a general discussion on the topic of geoengineering from more than six years ago, when Brennan spoke June 29, 2016, at the Council on Foreign Relations.
In his address, Brennan noted that emerging technologies, even ones that could benefit humanity, can have profound foreign policy implications.
In the clip shown in the post, Brennan says:
“Another example is the array of technologies, often referred to collectively as geoengineering, that potentially could help reverse the warming effects of global climate change. One that has gained my personal attention is stratospheric aerosol injection, or SAI: a method of seeding the stratosphere with particles that can help reflect the sun’s heat in much the same way that volcanic eruptions do. An SAI program could limit global temperature increases, reducing some risks associated with higher temperatures, and providing the world economy additional time to transition from fossil fuels.”
Brennan goes on to explain the potential drawbacks of utilizing these kinds of climate intervention technologies:
As promising as it may be, moving forward on SAI would also raise a number of challenges for our government and for the international community. On the technical side, greenhouse gas emission reductions would still have to accompany SAI to address other climate change effects, such as ocean acidification, because SAI alone would not remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. On the geopolitical side, the technology’s potential to alter weather patterns and benefit certain regions of the world at the expense of other regions could trigger sharp opposition by some nations. Others might seize on SAI’s benefits and back away from their commitment to carbon dioxide reductions. And as with other breakthrough technologies, global norms and standards are lacking to guide the deployment and implementation of SAI and other geoengineering initiatives.”
Brennan also discussed the foreign policy implications of new cancer treatments and other life-extending medicines.
The CIA did not respond to a request for comment.
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Geoengineering technologies like stratospheric aerosol injection are still being developed and studied, Alan Robock, a climate science professor at Rutgers University, previously told USA TODAY. Robock and other researchers have also told USA TODAY they are not aware of any significant geoengineering experiments or operations.
The post conflates geoengineering technology with the “chemtrails” conspiracy theory, which baselessly claims governments and other nefarious actors are covertly adding toxic chemicals to the atmosphere via airplane plumes. USA TODAY and other outlets have repeatedly debunked claims purporting to prove chemtrails exist.
USA TODAY reached out to the social media users who shared the post for comment.
Our sources:
- USA TODAY, Feb. 28, Fact check: False claim geoengineering is behind climate change
- USA TODAY, Jan. 25, Fact check: False claim ‘chemtrails’ and HAARP are used to manipulate the weather
- USA TODAY, Dec. 14, 2022, Fact check: False claim that barrels pictured on planes contain ‘chemtrails’
- USA TODAY, Aug. 16, 2016, Scientists disprove airplane ‘chemtrail’ theory
- USA TODAY, Nov. 4, 2022, Fact check: Video shows House GOP criticizing Jan. 6 committee, not laughing at Liz Cheney
- Council on Foreign Relations, June 29, 2016, John Brennan on Transnational Threats to Global Security
- Council on Foreign Relations (YouTube video), June 29, 2016, A Conversation With John. O Brennan
- Harvard University, accessed April 14, Chemtrails Conspiracy Theory
- Smithsonian Magazine, Aug. 22, 2016, Science Officially Debunks Chemtrails, But the Conspiracy Will Likely Live On
- Strauss Center for International Security and Law, accessed April 14, John O. Brennan
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