A new report claims that the Pentagon used unidentified flying object (UFO) disinformation to hide secret weapon programs from the Soviet Union during the Cold War. The report noted that the disinformation shared by the Pentagon resulted in multiple UFO conspiracy theories.
In a review of a 2024 Pentagon report on UFO sightings, The Wall Street Journal claimed that some of the most common theories regarding UFOs, including reports about aliens being held at Nevada’s Area 51, were directly encouraged by the Pentagon to hide details on various secret weapon programs.
According to The Wall Street Journal, evidence based on interviews with roughly two dozen U.S. military contractors, scientists, and officials and thousands of pages of documents, emails, text messages, and recordings reportedly show that the U.S. government engaged in efforts to encourage UFO conspiracies since the 1950s.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the Pentagon’s 2024 report indicated that a Nevada bar owner near Area 51 was given fake photos of flying saucers near Area 51 by an Air Force colonel in the 1980s. The Air Force colonel told the Pentagon’s investigators that he was given a mission at the time to share disinformation and protect the true objective of Area 51, which was to test the F-117 Nighthawk stealth airplane.
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According to The Wall Street Journal, the U.S. military determined that its secret weapon and technology programs could be hidden from the Soviet Union during the Cold War by encouraging UFO conspiracy theories.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Sean Kirkpatrick, the former director of the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, found multiple examples of the Pentagon spreading disinformation regarding UFO sightings, including an incident that involved the Air Force hazing multiple military members by introducing them to a fake unit allegedly responsible for investigating alien aircraft. The outlet noted that Kirkpatrick also determined that the government intentionally withheld information from the public regarding documented sightings of secret military projects.
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Robert Salas, a former Air Force captain, said, “This is a gigantic cover-up.”
In a statement obtained by The Wall Street Journal, the Department of Defense said, “The department is committed to releasing a second volume of its Historical Record Report, to include AARO’s findings on reports of potential pranks and inauthentic materials.”
