UFO conspiracy theories
Some conspiracy theories argue that various governments and politicians globally, in particular the United States government, are suppressing evidence that unidentified flying objects are controlled by an extraterrestrial or "non-human" intelligence, or built using alien technology. Since the 1980s, such conspiracy theories often argue that world governments are in communication or cooperation with extraterrestrials, and some claim that the governments are explicitly allowing cattle mutilation and alien abduction.
According to the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, little or no evidence exists to support them despite significant research on the subject by non-governmental scientific agencies.
Overview
Flying saucer conspiracy theories first began in the pages of pulp science-fiction, where they drew upon inspiration from the "lost continent" myths of Atlantis and Lemuria. In 1947, during 'the first summer of the cold war', private pilot Kenneth Arnold reported witnessing supersonic 'flying discs'; historians would later chronicle at least 800 "copycat" reports in subsequent weeks, while other sources estimate the reports may have numbered in the thousands. Press speculated that the flying discs were secret American or Soviet technology.By December 1949, author Donald Keyhoe promoted the idea that the Air Force was withholding knowledge of interplanetary spaceships, culminating in his 1955 work The Flying Saucer Conspiracy. Gulyas argues: "Keyhoe was instrumental in popularizing one of the most lasting memes in the long flying-saucer story: the government cover-up of 'the truth' about UFOs". The following year, the book They Knew Too Much About Flying Saucers introduced the concept of the Men in Black.
Conspiracy theories became more prevalent after the Kennedy assassination. In 1967, controversial prosecutor Jim Garrison accused UFO hoaxer Fred Crisman of involvement in the assassination; thereafter, UFO conspiracy theorists began to link Kennedy's death to aliens. An official debunking of a UFO sighting as "Swamp Gas" was met with ridicule, and by the 1970s, a supposed cover-up was termed a "Cosmic Watergate". In 1977, blockbuster film Close Encounters of the Third Kind dramatized a government UFO cover-up. By 1974, theories alleged the Air Force stored dead alien bodies at a mythical "Hangar 18", and in 1980, the book The Roswell Incident introduced the story of a UFO crash to a mass audience.
While earlier decades imagined a cover-up of benevolent "space brothers", the 1980s saw the rise of what scholars called "ufology's dark side": theories that a government cabal was secretly involved with a race of malevolent aliens. New theories linked a supposed UFO cover-up to alien abductions and cattle mutilations. At a 1989 Mutual UFO Network conference, author Bill Moore confessed that he had intentionally fed fake evidence of extraterrestrials to UFO researchers.
The 1990s saw the rise of UFO conspiracy theories in popular culture, with TV shows like The X-Files and films like Independence Day and Men in Black.
In 2017, UFO conspiracy theories experienced renewed interest when Leslie Kean published stories of a 21st-century Pentagon UFO program.
Mainstream views
While unusual sightings have been reported in the sky throughout history, UFOs became culturally prominent after World War II, escalating during the Space Age. Studies and investigations into UFO reports conducted by governments, as well as by organizations and individuals have occurred over the years without confirmation of the fantastical claims of small but vocal groups of ufologists who favour unconventional or pseudoscientific hypotheses, often claiming that UFOs are evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence, technologically advanced cryptids, demons, interdimensional contact or future time travelers. After decades of promotion of such ideas by believers and in popular media, the kind of evidence required to solidly support such claims has not been forthcoming. Scientists and skeptic organizations such as the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry have provided prosaic explanations for UFOs, namely that they are caused by natural phenomena, human technology, delusions, and hoaxes. Beliefs surrounding UFOs have inspired parts of new religions even as social scientists have identified the ongoing interest and storytelling surrounding UFOs as a modern example of folklore and mythology understandable with psychosocial explanations.Benjamin Radford has pointed out how unlikely such suppression of evidence is given that "he UFO coverup conspiracy would have to span decades, cross international borders, and transcend political administrations" and that "all of the world's governments, in perpetuity, regardless of which political party is in power and even among enemies, have colluded to continue the coverup."
Notable proponents
A wide variety of people have publicly promoted the idea of a conspiracy to cover up UFOs.A number of theorists achieved prominence for their claims. Donald Keyhoe was the most prominent proponent of UFO conspiracy theories during the 1950s. In the late 1960s and 1970s, Jacques Vallée and J. Allen Hynek were notable voices alleging a "Cosmic Watergate"; both were involved in the blockbuster Close Encounters of the Third Kind. In the 1980s, Stanton Friedman rose to prominence after describing the Roswell incident as a conspiracy. In the 2010s, Luis Elizondo rose to prominence for his claims of a US government cover-up.
Other proponents were less prominent. Richard Shaver, one early proponent, had been hospitalized for psychiatric problems, while another, Paul Bennewitz, was hospitalized for paranoia after being deceived by Richard Doty. Several proponents later confessed responsibility for hoaxes or lies, including Gray Barker, Carl Allen, Richard Doty, Bill Moore, and Ray Santelli. Other proponents met violent ends—Morris Jessup and James E. McDonald died by suicide. John Lear helped promote both Bill Cooper and Bob Lazar — Cooper broke with Lear and was years later shot and killed by law enforcement during an attempted arrest.
High-profile individuals who have suggested that UFO evidence is being suppressed include United States Senator Barry Goldwater, British Admiral Lord Hill-Norton, American Vice Admiral Roscoe H. Hillenkoetter, astronauts Gordon Cooper and Edgar Mitchell. 21st century proponents include former Canadian Defence Minister Paul Hellyer, Stanford University immunologist Garry Nolan, and Israeli brigadier general Haim Eshed, In 2017, To The Stars Inc. was founded by Jim Semivan, Harold E. Puthoff, and Tom DeLonge. Luis Elizondo and David Grusch were notable proponents in the 2020s. Beyond their testimonies and reports they have presented no evidence to substantiate their statements and claims.
Theoretical physicist, Avi Loeb, claimed that interstellar objects, such as comets 1I/ʻOumuamua and the 3I/ATLAS, and the meteor CNEOS 2014-01-08, are artificial in origins. During an appearance on Joe Rogan's podcast, he also claimed that whether an ancient "sophisticated civilization" existed on Earth before humanity is credible question to ask. Loeb tends to publicize his results before undergoing peer review, contributing to a climate of sensationalism around his claims.
In popular fiction
Works of popular fiction have included premises and scenes in which a government intentionally prevents disclosure to its populace of the discovery of extraterrestrial intelligence.The 1960s saw conspiracy films like 2001: A Space Odyssey,. The 1970s saw the UFO conspiracy discussed briefly in Jack Nicholson vehicle Easy Rider, and in-depth in the Steven Spielberg films Close Encounters of the Third Kind. The 1980s saw Spielberg return to the topic with E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial while Disney's Flight of the Navigator introduced UFO conspiracy theories to a childhood audience. The 1990s saw UFO conspiracy theories in films like Total Recall, Independence Day, and Men in Black. Television series and films including The X-Files, Dark Skies, and Stargate have also featured efforts by governments to conceal information about extraterrestrial beings. In March 2001, former astronaut and United States Senator John Glenn appeared on an episode of the TV series Frasier playing a fictional version of himself who confesses to a UFO cover-up.
The plot of the Sidney Sheldon novel The Doomsday Conspiracy involves a UFO conspiracy, as did the plot of the 2021 series American Horror Story: Double Feature.
In religion
have identified some new religious movements among the proponents of UFO conspiracy theories, most notably the Nation of Islam, Scientology, and Heaven's Gate.Mormon cosmology teaches that the Earth is not unique, but that it is one of many inhabited planets, with each planet created for the purpose of bringing about the "immortality and eternal life" of humanity.
One author observes "there has long been an association between UFOs and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints".
Theosophists and occultists had long claimed knowledge of extraterrestrial beings. In 1946, Meade Layne achieved national notoriety when the wire service carried his claims to be in telepathic communication with people in a space ship. Other "contactees" like George Adamski and George Hunt Williamson similarly had backgrounds in Theosophy. Guy Warren Ballard, founder of the UFO religion "I AM" Activity, had a background in Theosophy.
In the years following the 1931 Japanese invasion of Manchuria, Nation of Islam founder W. D. Fard introduced the concept of The Mother Plane: an apocalyptic Japanese weapon of war. During the ensuing decades, the Mother Plane became identified with UFOs.
1950s UFO religions included Unarius and the Aetherius Society. In the 1950s, L. Ron Hubbard, a pulp fiction author in Raymond Palmer's magazines and a practitioner of Aleister Crowley's Thelema, founded the new religious movement Scientology. In the late 1960s, Hubbard began to secretly teach of Xenu, an extraterrestrial who conspired to turn ancient Earth into a prison for immortal souls. In the 1970s, UFO religion Raëlism formed; in 2002 the group achieved notoriety for its unverified claims to have performed human cloning.
In 1997, rumors spread that a spaceship was trailing the Hale-Bopp comet. On March 26, 1997, law enforcement discovered the bodies of the 39 active members of Heaven's Gate religious group. They had participated in a coordinated series of ritual suicides, coinciding with the closest approach of Comet Hale–Bopp. From 1994 to 1997, UFO religion Order of the Solar Temple was responsible for 74 deaths in a series of mass murder-suicides.