By David K. Li -
NBC News
There is no credible evidence that US authorities are hiding the existence of extraterrestrial life in the form of unidentified flying objects, although some people still believe in UFOs, according to a Pentagon report published this Friday.
The document offers a number of explanations for what has motivated more than 40% of Americans to believe that life forms from other galaxies have visited Earth.
“Investigations determined that the majority of sightings were the result of misidentification of ordinary objects and phenomena,” according to the conclusion of the 63-page report on “unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP).”
“Although many UFO reports remain unresolved, the AARO (All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office) believes that if additional quality data were available, most of these cases could also be identified and resolved as ordinary objects or phenomena,” indicated the investigation.
Maj. Gen. Patrick S. Ryder, a Defense Department spokesman, insisted that “there is no verifiable evidence to support claims that the U.S. government and private companies have access to or reverse-engineered extraterrestrial technology.” .
The report listed satellite data collection and other sources developed, usually in secret, by the Government and private industries that could easily have been identified as UFOs by the general public.
[Expert report on UFOs calls for improving data collection systems and encourages citizens to report facts]
“The examples below represent a sample of classified and declassified national security programs that, in AARO's assessment, were likely associated with erroneous UFO reports,” the document says about ships made by companies such as Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman.
The report suggests that Americans' beliefs about UFOs are unlikely to change.
“Beyond hoaxes and falsifications, false information and disinformation is more prevalent and easier to spread now than ever, especially with advances in computer-generated photography and video tools,” according to the report.
“Internet search algorithms and content recommendations serve to reinforce preconceived ideas and confirm prejudices, as well as help educate and inform,” he noted.
This Friday's report appears to contradict some elements of another report prepared by the House Oversight Committee last July, which made the existence of the unidentified aerial phenomena clear to the public.
David Grusch, a former government intelligence officer, told the panel that he knows "several colleagues" who were injured by unidentified aerial phenomena and that he has interviewed individuals who have recovered "non-human biological objects" from the wreckage of such phenomena. unidentified aircraft.
He has not elaborated further on the matter and the Pentagon categorically rejected Grusch's claims at the time.