Joe Rogan Experience #2534 - Annie Jacobsen · Aired Jul 31, 2026
Claim summary · not a verbatim quotation
Lyme disease was engineered as a biological weapon at the Plum Island laboratory.
The finding
What the evidence shows
This is a long running conspiracy theory that doesn't hold up. Lyme bacteria has turned up in preserved ticks and mice collected in the northeastern US decades before Plum Island became a research site, and early cases were documented in places like Wisconsin with no connection to the island. No credible investigation has found any evidence it was engineered there.
Read the supporting source · theconversation.com ↗Quick answer & review status
Quick answer
Is it true that Lyme disease was engineered as a biological weapon at the Plum Island laboratory?
No, not as stated. This is a long running conspiracy theory that doesn't hold up. Lyme bacteria has turned up in preserved ticks and mice collected in the northeastern US decades before Plum Island became a research site, and early cases were documented in places like Wisconsin with no connection to the island. Joe Rogan said it (matched by voice) on Joe Rogan Experience #2534 - Annie Jacobsen, aired Jul 31, 2026, at 9:20. The supporting source is theconversation.com, linked below.
The context belongs here.
No separately verified on-air correction is recorded for this check. That is not a claim that nobody corrected it.
- Attribution
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- Editorial context review
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- Coverage
- One selected claim from the episode
Revisions to this check
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