UFOs are at risk of going 'down the paranormal rabbit hole', expert warns - as bombshell report reveals Pentagon planted myths
By WILIAM HUNTER
UFOs are at risk of 'going down the paranormal rabbit hole', an expert has warned in wake of a bombshell report by the Wall Street Journal.
The report revealed that UFO conspiracies were fuelled by the Pentagon in a bid to conceal a classified weapons programme.
According to the 2024 US Department of Defense (DOD) review, the government conducted a deliberate disinformation campaign during the Cold War era, going so far as to distribute fake photos of flying saucers to residents.
Following the release of the report, Nick Pope, who worked on the MoD's UFO desk for three years from 1991, claims that some UFO investigators are introducing 'too much religiosity' into their theories.
In a post on X, Mr Pope wrote: 'The subject of UAP has gone from fringe to mainstream.
'Congress is engaged.
'We risk losing this if we go down the paranormal rabbit hole, or introduce too much religiosity or spirituality into the narrative.
'Let's keep the focus on defense, national security and safety of flight.'
A bombshell report has claimed that the UFO conspiracies surrounding Nevada's Area 51 (pictured) were fueled by the Pentagon to conceal classified weapons program
UFOs are at risk of 'going down the paranormal rabbit hole', an expert has warned in wake of a bombshell report by the Wall Street Journal
Mr Pope (pictured), who worked on the MoD's UFO desk for three years from 1991, cautioned that some UFO investigators were introducing 'too much religiosity' into their theories and warned that those interested in UFOs should 'keep the focus on defense, national security, and safety of flight'
Over the last few years, there has been growing interest at the highest levels of US politics in the topic of UFOs and UFO sightings.
Members of Congress, largely coming from the Republican Party, have formed a caucus to examine what they call 'unidentified anomalous phenomena' or 'UAPs'.
In 2023, this culminated in a major congressional hearing in which former US officials testified to the existence of a secret UFO recovery programme.
David Grusch, who led the analysis of UAP within a US defence agency, claimed that the government had taken possession of alien craft and 'biologics'.
However, UFOs' growing credibility now risks taking a serious blow as it emerges that a number of UFO theories might have been deliberately started by the Pentagon itself.
The new claims of a secret weapons cover-up come from a report by the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) - a congressional task force within the DOD created to investigate persistent rumours of secret government projects involving alien technology.
Sean Kirkpatrick, the first director of the AARO, was appointed by the government in 2022 to investigate and make sense of the countless UFO theories swirling through public and military channels.
Investigating UFO reports dating back to 1945, AARO discovered several cases where high-ranking military officials deliberately misled the public and their colleagues.
The subject of UFOs has recently gained credibility, culminating in a series of Congressional Hearings in 2023 in which whistleblowers testified that the US has a secret UFO retrieval programme
Recent reports suggest that the Pentagon deliberately fanned the flames of UFO conspiracies and gave doctored images to members of the public and members of the military to cover up a secret weapons programme. Pictured: The famous 'Tic Tac' UFO video
Mr Kirkpatrick told the Wall Street Journal he had met a number of former Air Force members who claimed to have been briefed on a project called 'Yankee Blue'.
For decades, some newly recruited officers were given a picture which appeared to show a flying saucer and were told that they were part of a programme called Yankee Blue which was responsible for reverse-engineering the technology.
However, the picture was a fake and there was such a reverse-engineering programme.
Instead, Yankee Blue appears to have been a bizarre hazing ritual or loyalty test for new recruits into the Air Force.
And even decades later, news that Yankee Blue was fake stunned the now-retired servicemen.
It was not until 2023 did the defence secretary's office sent a memo out across the service ordering the practice to stop immediately.
Kirkpatrick told then President's director of national intelligence, Avril Haines, who was also stunned.
Haines was said to have pressed the issue, questioning how the hazing could have carried on without being stopped.
According to the 2024 US Department of Defense (DOD) review, the Pentagon (pictured) conducted a deliberate disinformation campaign during the Cold War era, going so far as to distribute fake photos of flying saucers to residents.
The official responded: 'Ma'am, we know it went on for decades. We are talking about hundreds and hundreds of people. These men signed NDAs. They thought it was real.'
Mr Pope told MailOnline: 'The idea that governments have faked UFO narratives so as to distract people from black project technologies isn't new.
'It doesn't surprise me that the practice continues, or that other false narratives have been created, perhaps as loyalty tests, to see if people leak them, or even as practical jokes.'
These findings are particularly critical for UFO researchers since they threaten to cast doubt over recent high-profile testimony given before Congress.
For example, Mike Gold, who served on NASA's independent UAP study team in October 2022, told Congress that 'UAPs should be taken seriously and researched accordingly.'
If it is true that UFO sightings are being manufactured by the intelligence community, then it could mean this testimony can no longer be relied on.
Mr Pope adds: 'At some of the public sessions, Intelligence Community insiders have testified as to the reality of legacy Intelligence Community programmes relating to crash retrievals and reverse engineering, unequivocally stating that the U.S. government is in possession of hardware and bodies of a non-human intelligence.
'Congress urgently now needs to ask: are these statements true, were the witnesses taken in by these false narratives, or were they complicit in creating and spreading such narratives?'
Despite this new information, UFO advocates such as Luiz Elizondo (pictured) have doubled down on their beliefs. Mr Elizondo appeared to insinuate that the recent investigation was, itself, part of a conspiracy to hide the truth about UFOs
As these reports rattle many UFO believers, Mr Pope insists that it is key for those in favour of UFO disclosure to 'push narratives that compete with the religious/spiritual one'.
Mr Pope wrote: 'Let's keep the focus on defense, national security and safety of flight.'
His comments come in response to a growing number of UFO supporters who argue that aliens are actually angels or other supernatural creatures.
For example, Luis Elizondo, one of the leading UFO whistleblowers and disclosure advocates, has claimed that he psychically transformed into an angel to scare terrorists as part of a secret Pentagon programme.
Yet despite the Wall Street Journal's revelations and Mr Pope's appeal to stick to the facts, many UFO believers have only entrenched themselves deeper in conspiracy theories.
Speaking on the Good Trouble Show podcast, Mr Elizondo said: 'The absurdity of the WSJ article is not only a disingenuous piece, it appears to be well orchestrated with the usual players in the DoD [Department of Defence].'
Likewise, commenters on the popular r/UFO Reddit page shared their belief that the WSJ investigation must be another conspiracy.
One commenter wrote: 'The fact they are claiming this is totally absurd but it’s important to see why they are doing it. WSJ is being fed this info from Pentagon sources. Why? What is their angle?'
UFO believers are concerned that these findings could be used to undermine the testimony of several whistleblowers given before Congress in 2023. This has led to wild speculation that the investigation itself was a 'psy-op' from the Pentagon to discredit UFO believers
Experts say that conspiracy theories are 'sticky', meaning that believers cannot give them up easily even when faced with contradictory evidence
However, psychologists say that this reaction to the sudden release of new information is normal for conspiracy theorists.
Dr Daniel Jolley, an expert on the psychology of conspiracy theories from the University of Nottingham, told MailOnline: 'Conspiracy beliefs can be very “sticky” because they’re often tied to people’s identity and worldview.
'When someone invests in a conspiracy belief, it becomes part of how they make sense of the world and themselves.
New evidence that contradicts those beliefs can be dismissed or rationalised away since accepting it might threaten deeply held assumptions and create psychological discomfort.'
This means that the suggestion that UFO myths were created as a disinformation campaign is unlikely to affect the deeply held beliefs of those who already think UFOs are real.
Over the course of three online-based studies, researchers at the University of Kent showed strong links between the belief in conspiracy theories and certain psychological traits.
Narcissism and self-esteem levels have a large impact on a persons belief in conspiracy theories.
The results showed that people who rated highly on the narcissism scale and who had low self-esteem were more likely to be conspiracy believers.
However, while low self-esteem, narcissism and belief in conspiracies are strongly linked, it is not clear that one - or a combination - causes the other.
But it hints at an interesting new angle to the world of conspiracy and those who reinforce belief.
There are widely believed to be three main reasons as to why people believe in conspiracy theories.
- The desire for understanding and certainty - Seeking explanations for events is a natural human desire.
- The desire for control and security - Conspiracy theories can give their believers a sense of control and security.
- The desire to maintain a positive self-image - People who feel socially marginalised are more likely to believe in conspiracy theories and it gives them a sense of worth in the UFO community.
These three things tie in with the previously stated qualities and combine to create an avid conspiracy theorist.
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