Keep UFO Reporting Grounded in Reality, Advise Skeptics

“Unidentified” does not equal “aliens”: Sources often conflate sightings of something in the sky with extraterrestrials. Most UFOs become IFOs (identified flying objects).

Just because alien life is possible, it doesn’t mean they’re here: Many confuse the fact that astronomers believe, on a statistical basis, that life (even intelligent life) may exist elsewhere in the universe with the idea that such life has already been discovered by being glimpsed in our skies. It hasn’t.

We can’t identify everything: There are always going to be some unresolved sightings, often where very little is known or recorded.

UFO enthusiasts are everywhere: There are always going to be officials among the sprawling defense agencies who have to take reports of UFOs or UAPs seriously, as well as politicians for whom UFO controversies serve their particular ends.

Talk to the actual experts: When possible, it’s best to seek out independent, knowledgeable scientific and technical sources, not just enthusiasts and believers. CSI can connect journalists to these experts.

Anecdote is not data: Statements from sources such as, “It flew away at speeds unimaginable” or “turned in a way impossible for any aircraft today” are not reliable.

Remember Occam’s razor: Even highly advanced imaging equipment is susceptible to errors and human misinterpretations. Plausible, terrestrial explanations have been advanced for all the U.S. Navy videos that have caused so much fuss.