By Frank Warren
The UFO Chronicles(c) 2006-2009
For those of us that have been around long enough to watch the transition of the media "reporting" the news to the "editorializing" of it, and some would say as of late the "propagation" of it-many of us realize the power the medium wields which publishes this information. I often have said that "the greatest power on the earth is the media, and that the most powerful people, are those that hold the reins."
Most military historians can cite the use of, and agree upon the importance of "propaganda" and its sister "censorship." The layperson may find it surprising that the "powers-that-be" used those very tools from the very introduction (in a public way) to the "UFO phenomenon."
When UFOs were reported off the coast in 1941 which set off "two alarms" and initiated a "blackout," in the aftermath the "War Department" over turned "eye witness accounts" of their "Generals in place" and said the actions were "only tests." Similarly, in February of 1942 it happened again, the powers-that-be discounted the declarations of thousands of witnesses, and gave an "explanation" of jittery war nerves.
As the war progressed and pilots were reporting what they nicknamed, "Foo Fighters," (UFOs trailing our aircraft) a silence order was quickly put into effect. After the war in 1946, the Swedish officials exorcised "censorship" with the media in regards to what would be called Ghost Rockets.
Following the death (in 1947) of two "official UFO investigators" (Brown Luis Alvarez, a high-energy physicist; Thornton Page, the deputy director of the Johns Hopkins Operations Research Office and an expert on radar and electronics; and Lloyd Berkner, a director of the Brookhaven National Laboratories and a specialist in geophysics.
Following a very "brief investigation" the panel concluded that the manipulation of information to the public was paramount. The panel recommended to the "National Security Council" that UFO reports be debunked and a policy of public education instituted to reassure the masses of the lack of evidence behind UFOs. It suggested using the media, advertising, business clubs, schools, and even the Disney corporation to get the message across.
The Air Force terminated its (overt) investigation (Project Blue Book) of UFOs in 1969 with the completion of the "Condon Report." The common consensus amongst Ufologists is that "Blue Book" was at the least a "weak attempt" at investigating the phenomenon, and at most, an "internal cog" of the "debunking process."
Which brings us back to recent times; back to the media using terms like believe, believers, enthusiasts etc., in regards to reporting the UFO phenomenon. (Noted Ufologist Richard Hall in How to debunk UFOs and Discredit UFO Proponents, writes, "Always refer to them as UFO believers or ETH believers, implying that their position is faith-based.") Some believe that there exists a conspiracy today executed by those whom hold the reins to what Americans read, see or hear regarding the news, specifically in relation to UFO reports.
Whether the latter is true or not, is open for debate; however, in my view, the past actions of the powers-that-be certainly have had a "psycho-sociological effect" on society, as well as the media and this phenomenon has crossed generations.
Imagine if you will a news report about the "Empire State Building," with a reporter stating, "Empire State Building believers" gathered today... or "Washington Monument believers" stated today.... Doesn't make sense does it. Associating the verb "believers" with a "factual" thing is nonsensical-period! The irony of course is that the term "UFO" was borne by the very agency that was most fervent in its attempts to discredit it.
See Also:
UFO Believers (Part 1)
UFO Ignorance
- Part 1 -
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