Casey Lartigue Jr. is co-founder of Freedom Speakers International, a Seoul Honorary Citizen, and co-author of Greenlight to Freedom.
Am I a CIA spy?
Casey Lartigue, center, after giving a speech about the life of Frederick Douglass to North Korean refugees in July 2023. Photo courtesy of Freedom Speakers International
By Casey Lartigue Jr.
For years, my public persona has been that of an educator, a non-profit co-founder, a mentor, public speaker, author and editor, among many things. It turns out that was a facade. Thanks to critics, I have realized they were correct. I must be a CIA spy.
I never received CIA training, which proudly makes me the first CIA spy in history to skip orientation, training and to be self-taught. I do not receive a government paycheck, which makes me the dumbest spy in history. My critics alleging that I am a CIA spy never present evidence, so I have decided to present it against myself.
1. My transparency is evidence
I post about my activities and include many photos. Normal people think that is sharing. Conspiracy theorists think it is coded communication.
We publish Freedom Speakers International’s budget online and engage in public fundraising. I spend a lot of time on fundraising, which would probably alarm my supposed CIA superiors, because a true CIA agent would already have suitable funding and would not waste time writing thank-you notes to donors. Apparently, all of this is my clever public cover.
When we were just a small informal volunteer group, people asked why we didn’t post our budget information. Some suggested it looked like we, volunteers, were hiding something. Even before we became an official organization we published our budget information. Our transparency made us suspicious. I still hear the accusations, that’s even though In addition to independent auditors, board members, and our internal accountant, our budget information is checked by government bodies and institutions, foundation partners, Seoul City Hall, Mapo District Office, the ROK tax office, the ROK’s Ministry of Finance, and the ROK’s Ministry of Unification.
2. Working directly with people is suspicious behavior
These types of accusations are not new. In Washington, D.C., I occasionally heard that I was allegedly an FBI agent. I am not sure why the FBI would be concerned with increasing the education choices of low-income children, but that was the rumor.
I take it as a compliment that people believe I have worked for both the FBI and CIA across two continents without training or even visiting their offices. In the United States, I worked with parents who wanted better schools for their children. In Seoul, I work directly with North Korean refugees, teaching English, public speaking, and storytelling. In both places, the conclusion has been the same: anyone who deals with real people instead of theories must be part of an intelligence operation.
I have been engaged in many other jobs and activities, including teaching English and public speaking at universities, consulting, serving on boards of directors and trustees, writing columns, and managing programs, but it is only when I have worked face-to-face with marginalized people that the FBI and CIA accusations have appeared.
3. My teaching is indoctrination
We empower North Korean refugees to prepare speeches, improve English, and publish books. To the average person, that sounds like education. To conspiracy theorists, it is allegedly ideological programming.
Grammar lessons are apparently political weapons. PowerPoint presentations are propaganda briefings. When a refugee gives a speech about freedom, it becomes evidence of Western brainwashing. If empowering people to speak for themselves counts as indoctrination, then I have been running a highly successful covert mission in the public eye.
4. My volunteers are a recruitment network
We have had more than 1,200 volunteer English tutors, speech coaches, and career mentors. To most people, that looks like community engagement. To certain online self-annointed detectives, it is a rotating network of “assets.”
If I were truly a CIA spy, would not one of the 1,200 volunteers have detected something? After hearing accusations that I was a spy and that our programs were exploiting refugees, a few people joined our organization under cover to investigate and “find dirt” on me. After a few months of mentoring and seeing the impact of his work, one of the undercover investigators became a donor and advocate of our organization.
5. The logic of accusation never fails
When critics cannot find evidence, they declare that the absence of evidence is the strongest proof. If I stay silent, it means guilt. If I respond, it is disinformation. If I am public, then I am allegedly a spy hidden in public. Heads they win, tails I am a spy.
Conspiracy theorists do not need facts, they only need imagination. My critics have achieved something even the CIA would admire: a self-sustaining system where every outcome proves their case. I sometimes think they should be the ones working in intelligence, given their ability to connect dots that never existed.
6. I have elite credentials
Some of the people accusing me of being a spy have even mentioned my affiliations with Harvard University. The argument is that a Harvard man would be working at a higher level, such as with the United Nations, rather than working at the grassroots with North Korean refugees.
That has led some to question if I really graduated from Harvard. That led me to talk about Harvard more often. I invite them to contact Harvard University to confirm I really graduated from there, but I haven’t heard from any of them. That would be the shortest investigation in history.
Casey Lartigue, second from the right, receiving an award from the Harvard Extension School Alumni Association, May 27. Courtesy of Jamison Wexler of The Harvard Gazette
7. Writing this blog post is the final proof
By writing this post, I have confirmed everything they believe. This piece will probably appear in their next conspiracy thread as proof that I am allegedly a CIA spy.
If I stay silent, it means I am hiding. If I write about it, it means I am confessing. Apparently, I cannot win, but I can at least document the absurdity.
I still have an open offer to my critics: if they can provide any evidence that I am an FBI or CIA agent, I will resign from my current jobs and shut down my blog and column with the Korea Times.
I am not sure if my critics realize that the more they accuse me, the more material they give me. I was on deadline for this blog post then happened to see another accusation by a regular commenter at the Korea Times. In that sense, they have become my most useful partners. That means they are collaborating with a CIA agent.