There’s no evidence that the federal government is covering up the existence of alien life. Such is the headline conclusion of “Report on Historical Record of U.S. Government Involvement with Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP),” a recent 63-page report released by the Department of Defense that serves as a bit of a counter to recent media and Congressional attention given to reports of UAPs—including alleged sightings by military pilots who were featured on 60 Minutes.
Among the report’s major findings:
- No evidence of any extraterrestrial findings, including alien technology or secret government programs.
- A conclusion that if better quality data was available, “most of these cases could be identified and resolved as ordinary objects or phenomena.”
- The majority of reports are “almost certainly the result of misidentification and a direct consequence of the lack of domain awareness.”
- Refutes claims from whistleblowers and former government officials of a government coverup.
Unsurpisingly, Stephen Bassett isn’t buying the above. As DC’s first registered UFO lobbyist, Bassett has been involved in activism around this topic for decades—making the case for lawmakers to take UAPs seriously, as well as seeking “disclosure,” a formal acknowledgment by the government of an extraterrestrial presence.
We asked Bassett about his reaction to the report, the effect of social media on increased pressure for the government to address the issue, and what’s next for people who continue to believe the government is hiding evidence of extraterrestrial life from the public:
What are your thoughts on this new review that claims to find no evidence of an alien government cover-up?
The issue has exploded in the last seven years; so much is happening that we were approaching disclosure. I did not believe that the Pentagon was sufficiently obtuse, stupid, or arrogant enough to do what they just did. The report is completely false from top to bottom.
You mentioned the interest from the public has skyrocketed in the past few years. How is social media and the internet bringing people together on this issue and, as a result, putting pressure on the Department of Defense?
The disclosure act of this moment has been going on for a long time and increasingly is embedded in the internet, particularly Twitter. People are able to share their information, documentaries, YouTube videos, and podcasts, until thousands of these are being created and shared around the world. Additionally, if you’re a researcher in Germany and someone wants to check out what you’re doing on the subject, you can just go to a website and get it translated for you. The “Tower of Babylon” has fallen—people can communicate worldwide through the internet. Researchers are easily communicating and aware of each other.
So, what you have is the global neurosphere, the world is now connected. The entire world is well aware of the concept of extraterrestrials, the presence of unknown vehicles, research confirming contact. The activism has made tremendous strides but the government basically said that “all of you are fools.”
How has the increased public pressure changed the way that the government approaches this issue?
The stigma has fallen away. [The term] “UAP,” which was put into play by people like myself, replaced “UFO,” so esteemed people like members of Congress and journalists could speak to it without having to use the contaminated, stigmatized term. But eventually, the stigma was so reduced that UFO came back, people were using it without concern. We’re moving very fast.
You’ve called this report “utterly false,” so do you place any value in its release, considering that it is the most sweeping review of the issue?
This is the year that history is going to look back on with enormous interest and focus. What happened was a “Black Swan event.” What I mean is: the last few years, the government has been preparing for disclosure—they knew it was inevitable. So, what did they do? They set up the infrastructure, working to pass the laws, not to find out what the phenomenon was—they knew that for years. What they were doing was setting up the infrastructure so that when the President does confirm the E.T. presence, they are ready to deal with the unbelievable level of interest and pressure from the world’s people.
You’ve made it clear that this review is important, even though you claim it is untrue. What do you think will be the reaction from the American public?
Social media and the internet is going to shred this nonsense.
Pentagon review of UFO sightings has found "no evidence" of extraterrestrial origin and "no evidence" that the U.S. govt or private companies have ever possessed ET technology that has been secretly reverse-engineered.
Ah, yes, you can always trust the government to investigate… pic.twitter.com/wEHKBT25U5
— Laoch Anderson (@laochsWTHDrops) March 9, 2024
CONGRESS BELIEVES THEY ARE COVERING UP!
A Pentagon review of decades of government investigations into UFO sightings, has found no evidence any of the sightings were extraterrestrial. The DoD are BIDEN LIARS!🛸Pentagon releases UFO report 👽https://t.co/RF01Lsb5xv via @YouTube
— Star Ali Mistriel (@AliMistriel) March 8, 2024
This is exactly what the aliens WANT us to think!!!
Pentagon UFO Investigation Finds No Evidence of Extraterrestrial Life https://t.co/BBLuePOvZW
— BCinSoFL🇺🇸🇮🇱🏳️🌈 (@BCinKWFL) March 8, 2024
Why is it so important that disclosure of this happens now, in your opinion?
Right now the world is teetering on the brink [of disaster.] We need something to shift the focus and change people’s minds. We are headed towards annihilation; we are closer to nuclear war than we’ve ever been before, there’s all kinds of things going on and this could change all that. Secondly, we are about to undergo the most embarrassing, ludicrous, awful Presidential election in history. Allowing the President, no matter their party, to end this truth embargo and allow us to enter a new paradigm could give us an opportunity to change course. There is every reason to get this done now.
It seems like the fight for disclosure is a continual uphill battle, especially considering your decades-long effort towards it, what keeps you motivated to continue this work?
Well first of all, your language is incorrect. We’re not in an uphill battle, we’re in a downhill battle and we’re winning. I think that we have history on our side, we have an increasing amount of people in government on our side. So, I don’t think this is representative of where the larger community of people in our government are at. We’re going to get this done.
