Episode 1078: Jimmy Dore | The Brogan Report

Why This Episode Is Problematic

In episode #1078, comedian and political commentator Jimmy Dore told Joe Rogan that the Syrian government’s chemical weapons attacks had been “completely debunked” and were false flag operations conducted by anti-Assad forces. Rogan asked if this had been proven, and Dore answered “Yes.” It had not been proven — the opposite was true.

TL;DR: Dore promoted Assad-apologist false flag conspiracy theories about Syrian chemical weapons attacks that had already been formally attributed to the Syrian government by the UN and OPCW, and Rogan accepted the claims without meaningful pushback.

The Core Claim

“The Syrian war is complete bullshit… those gas attacks now have been completely debunked.” — Jimmy Dore, JRE #1078

Dore characterized the chemical weapons attacks attributed to Bashar al-Assad’s government as false flags carried out by opposition groups to provoke U.S. intervention.

When Rogan asked whether this had been proven, Dore confirmed: “Yes.”

What the Evidence Actually Says

By the time this episode aired in February 2018, multiple authoritative international investigations had already publicly concluded the Syrian government was responsible for the most recent major sarin attack at Khan Shaykhun (April 4, 2017):

OPCW Fact-Finding Mission (June 2017): Confirmed that sarin or a sarin-like substance was used as a chemical weapon at Khan Shaykhun. OPCW
OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism (October 2017): Concluded it was “confident that the Syrian Arab Republic is responsible for the release of sarin at Khan Sheikhun on 4 April 2017.” UN News
UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria (September 2017): Concluded “the Syrian air force used sarin in Khan Shaykhun, Idlib, killing dozens, the majority of whom were women and children.” CNN
Human Rights Watch (September 2017): Documented mounting forensic and witness evidence that Syrian forces conducted the attack. Human Rights Watch
Chemical analysis: Laboratory study of the sarin used at Khan Shaykhun revealed unique chemical markers indicating it was made from the same precursor chemicals as Syria’s declared stockpile. Chemical & Engineering News

The attack killed at least 89 people and injured more than 541, the majority women and children.

Dore Has Since Admitted He Was Wrong

Jimmy Dore himself eventually acknowledged on social media that he had been “100% wrong about Syria & Assad & gas attacks” — though he framed even that admission defensively. Jimmy Dore on X

That is the position Rogan platformed and amplified to millions of listeners as if it were established fact.

Joe Rogan’s Role

Rogan did not push back in any substantive way:

He asked a single softball question (“Has it been proven?”) and accepted “Yes” at face value.
He did not cite OPCW, the UN Joint Investigative Mechanism, the UN Commission of Inquiry, or Human Rights Watch — all of which had publicly concluded the opposite months before the recording.
He did not note that Syria is one of very few state actors known to possess sarin and the only party to the conflict with an air force.
He let Dore present a fringe pro-Assad geopolitical narrative as settled fact.

This is the recurring pattern: a guest makes a sweeping geopolitical claim, Rogan offers no resistance, and the audience walks away believing a major international atrocity was a hoax.

Why It Matters

Denying state-sponsored chemical weapons attacks isn’t an edgy political opinion — it provides cover for war crimes against civilians, including children, and erodes the international norms that exist to deter chemical weapons use.

Rogan’s audience in 2018 already numbered in the tens of millions. Broadcasting an unchallenged claim that a UN-confirmed sarin atrocity was “completely debunked” is exactly the kind of misinformation that hardens audiences against credible reporting on real war crimes.