Donald Trump’s pledge to release official files relating to UFOs has intrigued conspiracy theorists who suspect the US government has hidden evidence of alien activity on Earth.
The real cover-up relating to supposed extraterrestrial life, however, involves the US air force sharing disinformation on the subject to hide its own “black project” technology.
That is the belief of Dr David Clarke, a lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University who spent five years researching official documents on UFOs and found nothing to make him believe aliens have visited.
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“The real conspiracy is not that aliens have visited, it’s that the US Air Force have been pushing these stories for decades, because it’s a useful cover for all their nefarious activities,” Dr Clarke, who curated the National Archives’ UFO project, said.
“I think it’s clear the US Air Force – and the alphabet soup of intelligence agencies – have for some time been using the widespread public belief in aliens and cover-ups to hide a range of black-project aircraft and drones that are under development.