Former US president Barack Obama has said he believes extraterrestrial life exists but rejected long-standing conspiracy theories about secret government programmes hiding alien beings.
Speaking in an interview with journalist Brian Tyler Cohen released Saturday, Obama was asked directly about UFOs and non-human intelligence. He responded, “They’re real,” before clarifying his position.
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“But I haven’t seen them. They’re not being kept at Area 51. There’s no underground facility, unless there’s this enormous conspiracy and they hid it from the President of the United States.”
The remarks marked one of his clearest public statements on extraterrestrial life since leaving office. However, Obama did not provide evidence and emphasised he had no knowledge of secret facilities or concealed alien technology during his presidency.
The speculation he referred to often centres on Area 51, a highly classified US Air Force site in Nevada that has for decades been linked to claims that authorities recovered alien spacecraft, including debris allegedly connected to the 1947 Roswell incident.
Interest in unidentified flying objects, now officially called unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP), has intensified in recent years after US authorities released military footage showing unexplained aerial objects. In 2021, the Pentagon declassified Navy videos depicting fast-moving airborne objects whose origin could not be determined.
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Obama had previously acknowledged those sightings, saying there was genuine footage and documentation of objects moving in ways the government could not explain. Still, he maintained there was no proof of a hidden alien programme.
The interview also briefly touched on current political discourse, though the former president focused primarily on dismissing conspiracy narratives surrounding extraterrestrials. His comments quickly gained attention online, particularly among communities tracking UAP disclosure debates.
Overall, Obama reiterated a cautious stance: accepting the possibility of life beyond Earth while rejecting claims that the US government is secretly storing alien craft or beings.
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