Oh, Edward, you shouldn’t have.

Not that anything he has to say will actually change the minds of those who want to believe in aliens (not UFOs, because those are real), but it’s nice to know Edward’s had a good look around, anyway.

Before becoming enemy number one of multiple intelligence agencies, Snowden was a former employee of the CIA and contractor for the National Security Agency, so he had access to plenty of juicy (and classified) information.

As CNN reports, he had a good look around:

As it turns out, the US government is not aware of any intelligent, extraterrestrial life, he says.

“For the record, as far as I could tell, aliens have never contacted Earth, or at least they haven’t contacted US intelligence,” Snowden writes in his recent memoir, “Permanent Record.”

Also, the moon landing did indeed occur.

“In case you were wondering: Yes, man really did land on the moon. Climate change is real. Chemtrails are not a thing,” he adds.

We know the moon landing happened because we’re not morons, and also because Buzz Aldrin decked that guy in the face when he was called a liar.

Then, during an appearance on the immensely popular podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience, Snowden again touched on some of the world’s most hotly contested conspiracy theories:

“I know, Joe, I know you want there to be aliens,” Snowden joked to Rogan, the podcast’s host. “I know Neil deGrasse Tyson badly wants there to be aliens. And there probably are, right?

“But the idea that we’re hiding them — if we are hiding them — I had ridiculous access to the networks of the NSA, the CIA, the military, all these groups. I couldn’t find anything,” he continued. “So if it’s hidden, and it could be hidden, it’s hidden really damn well, even from people who are on the inside.”

There it is – he left the door open for the loonies to deny, deny, and deny.

Here’s what he had to say about why people choose to believe conspiracy theories:

“Everybody wants to believe in conspiracy theories because it helps life make sense,” he said on the podcast. “It helps us believe that somebody is in control, that somebody is calling the shots.”

Also, because they’re lonely and it helps them find a sense of community. Mystery solved.

In case you’re really looking for an excuse to minimise productivity, here’s the entire podcast, which comes in at just under three hours:

[source:cnn]