NOTORIOUS whistleblower Edward Snowden trawled the CIA database for proof that aliens exist, it's been revealed.

The American fugitive, who now lives in Moscow, told podcast host Joe Rogan that having snooped on US intelligence networks, he could find no evidence aliens are being hidden by the US government.

3 Edward Snowden now lives in Russia to avoid prosecution in the US Credit: AFP

Snowden, 36, is a former National Security Agency contractor who spent seven years working for the NSA and CIA.

He became a whistleblower in 2013, leaking highly classified details of secret surveillance programmes by US intelligence agencies.

Snowden told Rogan that he had snooped for evidence of aliens, chemtrails and other popular conspiracy theory topics.

Chemtrails are trails of clouds seen streaking across the sky from aircraft.

But to some conspiracy theorists, they are really governments secretly releasing harmful substances in the air via planes.

I went looking on the network. I know Joe, you want there to be aliens. Edward Snowden

Snowden has recently written about such beliefs in his memoir, Permanent Record, revealing his life story for the first time.

He told Rogan that in it: "I talk about aliens and chemtrails and things like that, and the fact that there's no evidence for that.

"I went looking on the network. I know Joe, you want there to be aliens."

Rogan replied: "I do."

Snowden told him: "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.

"So, if it's hidden, and it could be hidden, it's hidden really damn well, even from people who are on the inside."

'REAL CONSPIRACIES'

Snowden explains in his memoir, that "for the record, as far as I could tell, aliens have never contacted Earth, or at least they haven't contacted US intelligence."

He told Rogan's podcast on Wednesday that "everyone wants to believe in conspiracy theories, because it makes life make sense.

"It helps us believe somebody is in control, somebody is calling the shots.

"There are real conspiracies, but they don't typically have tens of thousands of people working on them, unless you're talking about the existence of the intelligence community itself."

In Permanent Record, Snowden also says, "in case you are wondering: yes, man really did land on the moon. Climate change is real. Chemtrails are not a thing."

This debunking was in response to conspiracy theories that the Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969 - which celebrated its 50th anniversary this year - was all a con.

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Snowden lives in Russia, where he was granted asylum, to avoid prosecution in the US.

Many civil rights activists see him as a hero, but American authorities want him to stand trial for espionage.

The United States has sued to prevent Snowden profiting from his book because he did not seek intelligence agency review of its contents.

3 He spoke with Joe Rogan, telling the podcast host that chemtrail believers are on the wrong path