FOR THE PAST seventy-odd-years, there have been various civilian activism efforts to push the elected governments of the world into acknowledging the phenomena that is historically known as Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs).

To tell nearly eight billion people something extraordinary requires extraordinary evidence (‘extraordinary’ being dependant on subjective societal understanding, not objective truth).

Whilst Carl Sagan’s famous quote set a standard that could not be met due to a concoction of stigma, ridicule and obfuscation of classified information, the result left us with a phenomenal issue that held no oversight. The closure of Project Bluebook in 1969 ensured that for over 50 years, UFOs slipped from scientific analysis and into the fringe. The system was unable, incapable and unwilling to acknowledge what is arguably the most important discovery in human history – that possibly, we are not alone - whatever that means.

The term ‘UFO’ itself, was introduced during the years of Project Bluebook – what many analysts believe to be a United States Airforce pseudo-effort to investigate objects and devices of unknown origin. The unambiguous UFO term, it is believed, was to replace the more definitive ‘Flying Saucer’ or ‘Flying Disc’ descriptions which strongly inferred non-human technology (anomalous). In hindsight the untenable nature of the phenomena wrapped itself in secrecy. Equally, the high variation of geometrically shaped craft ensured confusion and obfuscation was made easy by whoever did not want this reality to be a reality. Even within the recent acknowledgments by the Department of Defense (DoD), Congress and the vague 2021 preliminary ‘UAP Report’, we can note the intentional absence of craft details, movements, abilities and more detailed specific case data. Thankfully, we know through recent Navy Pilot testimony, Intelligence officials and military personnel leaks that the shape and movements of these anomalous phenomena are radical and potentially beyond the scope and understanding of human technology and applied theoretical physics. The problem is that without the openly available classified gun camera footage of multiple engagements, we are consequently left with big pieces missing from this puzzle. This significantly has an impact on how we as ‘UAP Activists’ approach the issue. This puts us - the transparency advocate of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) - in a difficult position, particularly if we wish to strike the importance of this issue with senior members of government. In short, our current position to prove these encounters are ‘extra-terrestrial’ is problematic at its very core, and that remains even now in a post UAP Congressional legislation world. 

And this is where we find ourselves, having a war over the classification and terminology that UFO/UAP equates to extra-terrestrials. The 2021 New York Times article took an all or nothing approach to the UAP Report, the focus was not on the fact that the report "could not identify 143 military sightings from 144 cases. The focus was on whether or not they found evidence for extra-terrestrials, and then used that as an argument for a thinly veiled dismissal of the entire topic of UFOs. 

This is the basis of the problem, a very serious and unscientific application of theoretical knowledge that is based upon psychological ‘narrative building’. Essentially, we as humans are trying to build a collective subjective reality, rather than obtain objective truth, simply because the truth offends us. We cling to ‘Fake News’, wielding it like a weapon as we struggle to agree on what is real and what is not. Whether that is UAP, Covid or Climate Change, the truth becomes a problem if it does not fit our pre-emptive world view. We apply personal psychology, rather than critical analytical science that states, ‘I don’t have all the data’.

We are at a point in history in which we do not know what to believe anymore. We will continue to be lost without an accepted artificial intelligence system that can be agreed upon to give us the closest probability of objective truth - but that is getting ahead of myself.

And as for UAP technology, the principle applies. We do not know what this is due to the vast complexity of the phenomena, its untenable nature, and the infused obfuscation by some DoD bureaucrats, hidden through extreme classification and reliance on continued stigma. 

Firstly, we simply do not know the origin of these UAP, there are limitless anomalous hypothetical considerations that we as humans might not have even begun to understand. Extra-terrestrial is just one hypothetical consideration alongside Inter-Dimensional, Ultra-terrestrial, multi-Versal (not the same as Inter-Dimensional), Time Travellers and then aspects of consciousness and quantum mechanics. The most terrestrial element of UAP is whether this radical technology represents a foreign adversary that has leap frogged the Western powers. 

Secondly, and strangely even more important, is that trying to tell seven billion people that ‘aliens’ exist and that they are here flying around in our skies and in our oceans - who possess a technology we have no match against whilst ‘they’ are possibly abducting people - is not a viable strategy. In fact, it is a downright farcical position to adopt. Stigma and stereotyping of the UFO issue has long been intertwined within Western culture, it has almost become the default response, it is expected that one must ridicule the very notion of anything non-human. In a strange way it almost seems like a collective defence mechanism to protect the fragility of human subjective reality. You do not have to have degrees in Psychology to understand the most basic principles about the collective social-psyche angst and how it would monstrously display itself in a culture who have watched the film ‘Independence Day’. The ‘event disclosure’ pushback would be on another scale with the potential for looting, riots, stock market crashes, the fall of religion overnight, terrorism and new spiritual wars over new ‘alien gods’ are all very real possibilities to be navigated.

The third and final consideration of promoting ‘extra-terrestrial disclosure’ is that we live in a world which - for the most part - implements the scientific process. Without bodies or craft, non-blurry videos and continuing pilot testimony there is nothing for the scientific community to evaluate and analyse, and with the standard of evidence at an incredibly high level this is an issue which is almost impossible to believe. Almost.

These chronic factors account for powerful resistance against ‘UFO activism’ and its succession. So, with these concepts in mind, we must address the significant difference between ‘UFO Disclosure’ of little green extra-terrestrial men and the emerging efforts of ‘UAP Activism’. In UAP Activism we have reframed the entire conversation, stripped everything back to its baseline and completely sidestepped the crazy conspiracies and ridiculous Ufology notions that would not stand up to the scientific process. The social media initiative ‘#UFOTwitter’ housed the UAP Revolution from 2017 to 2021, ‘#EndUAPSecrecy’ and we here at UAPMedia UK have played their part alongside other efforts such as ‘The Big Phone Home’, all of whom adapted the new activism methodology that was inspired and first used by Luis Elizondo from 2017 onwards.

In doing this we reduced the stigma enough for the mainstream to have the conversation about a technology which was revolutionary. We made no conclusions to the occupants of UAP or their origins, but at the same time could consider the hypothetical implications without subscribing to them.

*Point of note, it is not that all of what occurred in Ufology was irrelevant and untrue, but the noise was drowning out the signal. 

We are centralists, we do not subscribe to any conclusive UAP origin. We advocate a scientific, holistic methodology that does not conclude on limited data or seek to actively debunk. We campaign for a scientific government program to investigate UAP.

There was a critical difference between the activism approaches of UAP and UFO. It must be said that we should applaud the efforts of generations past who stood at the White House and Parliament with signs demanding the government take seriously what they saw as the ‘extra-terrestrial’ presence. Whilst historical timing might see this UFO approach as the wrong methodology, it was done with the right intentions. With this in mind we must consider that street-protests would only increase the stigmatisation of UAP activism efforts. For example, there is the risk of UFO protesters wearing ‘alien costumes’ and holding conspiracy signs about Area51 which make the effort not credible. Then there is the real possibility of insignificant numbers at events, making them easy cannon fodder for journalists writing for a tabloid ‘weird-section’. Additionally, there could be a few well-placed Ufology opportunists to spread a baseless conspiracy or two for their own endorsement. As seen with ‘Storm-Area 51’ in the September of 2019, such occasions are open to the silly-party atmosphere, rather than a serious approach (although praise must go to Knapp, Corbel for changing the tone of the Area51 event in 2019). 

This type of protest approach is a hallmark of an old paradigm. A historical type of archaic activism, which heavily relied on ET as its baseline, which forced an angst enclosed concept on society when they were not psychologically ready to fully comprehend it.  

This is also true for the valiant efforts of Astronaut Gordon Cooper and his letter to the United Nations in November 1978 who solely focused on extraterrestrials. Additionally, the famous Dr. Steven Greer disclosure event in May 2001 concluded UFO equated to aliens, and even Stephen Bassett’s Citizen Hearing on Disclosure in April 2013 followed suit. These efforts are heroic and deserve praise it should be added despite the flawed strategic message used.

When Steven Bassett engaged a ‘tweet storm’ in 2014, he pushed not only the extra-terrestrial presence in tweets to congressional staffers across twitter, but also the ‘Rockefeller Initiative’ (a 1990s campaign that involved Hillary Clinton and Laurence Rockefeller to engage the UFO issue).

Again, the wrong methodology, but right intention. Whilst only a handful of people joined in the tweets to congressional representatives (myself included), the subject matter of both extra-terrestrials, UFOs and the Rockefeller Initiative was arguably too complexly taboo and too stigmatising to be acted upon, and that was if the message itself was getting enough exposure beyond a handful of likes and retweets – which it wasn’t.

Despite the well meaning, but ultimately ineffective 2014 twitter campaign, Bassett got something very right – social media activism – the first time such a concept had been used in this forum. This was the key to the entire modern ‘disclosure’ movement. However, instead of UFO we use UAP, a terminology that could be adapted and used in the mainstream. Instead of aliens we assign an unknown origin, eliminating the stigma instantly. And instead of drawing upon secret government pushback conspiracies we simply point to a government oversight system and its UAP accountability that has failed and is in need of reform.

Unfortunately, back in 2014 we did not have the military and government personnel coming forward with testimony and coming forward in favour of the reality of UAP technology. This made a huge difference and allowed UAP activism to take off where UFO activism couldn’t. The benefits cannot be understated. Following 2017, we used short thirty second UAP videos to infuse into the comments section of any social media article that dared to mention UFOs. We sent UAP videos and data to every mainstream journalist we had access to, we wrote letters and emails to every politician on each side of the pond. Over and over we strategically used UAP information and slowly targeted individuals of influence across social media to gain momentum and support. This was a long process, that’s how it worked so well, that’s how the narrative was changed, not in some flash event disclosure format but in a thought-out plan that allowed the world to digest the incredibly toxic information over time. Needless to say, the UAP initiative had help, and although I can’t name all the people who inputted guidance and advice even if I wanted too, I’m told some senior people were involved. 

The role of this new UAP initiative may not be liked by Ufologists, and I understand the frustration. We want the world to become focused on UAP in one instant moment. But we also have an economy to stabilise following a very serious financial crash ten years ago, upcoming Covid induced financial problems and an extreme capitalism system without a stop cap. As UAP activists who operate outside of government, we need to facilitate the process and use whatever information is forthcoming to further that process. We also need to use strategy to allow the system to fix itself, to absorb the extreme information, taking accountability, and then to gain oversight over the anomalous phenomena. 

Ultimately, there is no easy way to safely and responsibly tell 7 billion people that aliens exist, but we certainly have to try. As Senator Kristen Gillibrand said recently, ‘We can no longer bury our heads in the sand on this issue’.

Should any journalist, current member of Parliament, or member of the House of Lords, wish to reach out and discuss how the UK could play their part, you can reach us securely at uapmediauk@protonmail.com.