OPINION: Pro- and anti-UFO factions in government? It wouldn?t be the first time

Shortly before the release of the second government report on unidentified flying objects (UFOs) in as many years, dueling narratives emerged in the media. A New York Times article poured cold water on theories of alien visitation and the extraordinary technology alluded to in a 2021 report on “unidentified aerial phenomena” (UAP).

Citing government officials, the Times pointedly downplayed recent military UAP incidents as foreign drones, balloons or “airborne trash.”

A Daily Mail article, in contrast, struck a remarkably different tone.

Among several eyebrow-raising quotes, one source sharply criticized their Office of the Director of National Intelligence colleagues, stating, “They don’t want to talk about [UAP], because they really, really don’t know what the hell they are.” The Daily Mail’s sources disclosed several key details about the report prior to its release, including that the U.S. government cannot explain “more than 150” UFO encounters reported over the past year