All This UFO Alien Talk Comes From One Tiny Self-Interested Group

Second: We’ve seen a bunch of stories, from various media outlets, about signs of aliens. Some of these stories reference the Pentagon disclosures, some don’t. These stories seemingly come from so many different sources that they must be independent and unrelated. But when we looked at the stories earlier, we noticed that every expert—from media personalities to scientists to government insiders—belongs to a single organization called To The Stars. 

At the time, it seemed like To The Stars was seeking publicity because they wanted investors. Today, besides still asking for investment, their website is filled with merchandise for sale, and they now openly call themselves an entertainment company instead of a scientific venture.

Many of these stories respond to or cite a series of articles from the New York Times. These articles, even if they quote To The Stars people, seem legit—if the Times is reporting on it, surely they weighed the info and it’s newsworthy, right? However, these Times articles are all written by the same pair of writers. One is a longtime NY Times alum, but neither are now staff, and neither currently covers anything other than this specific beat. Both are “UFO advocates” who wrote books on the subject, one called The Believer: Alien Encounters. Reporters should be informed about what they’re covering, but when we’re talking about the paranormal, “experts” aren’t really experts, and we need disinterested people vetting them.