Polls show that nearly half of Americans believe that aliens have visited Earth. But scientifically, an “unidentified object” is not proof of an alien spacecraft – and is sometimes just the result of bad photography, a limited sensor, a balloon, a drone or missing information.
In the United States, UFOs have returned to center stage. The Trump administration has begun to gradually release documents and videos related to unidentified aerial phenomena, UAPs, and historical UFO reports. The government website PURSUE presents such materials to the public, but even there the basic distinction remains: not everything that is not immediately identified is an extraterrestrial spacecraft. Sometimes it is a partial sighting, a blurry photograph, infrared footage that is difficult to interpret, a balloon, a drone, birds, or an atmospheric phenomenon. (US Department of War)
This is also the position of the official body established at the Pentagon to investigate these phenomena, AARO. Its website explicitly states that so far no evidence of extraterrestrial technology has been found, and that the tests continue within a scientific and data-based framework. In other words: there are unidentified sightings, there are cases that have not yet been solved, but there is no verified evidence that extraterrestrials have visited Earth or that the US government possesses extraterrestrial technology.
Faith is stronger than evidence.
This gap does not prevent many Americans from believing. A November 2025 YouGov poll found that 47% of Americans believe that aliens have definitely or probably visited Earth, and 30% believe that UFOs are probably spacecraft or extraterrestrial life forms. Equally important is the level of distrust: Many respondents believe that if the US government had evidence, it would hide it from the public. (YouGov)
Therefore, UFOs in the United States are not just a scientific issue. They are also a cultural, political and psychological phenomenon. The 1947 Roswell incident, secret military experiments during the Cold War, science fiction films, “files in the dark,” social media and years of blacked-out documents have created fertile ground for suspicion. When the government admits that some of the sightings have been unexplained, many interpret this as indirect confirmation of much broader theories.
But scientifically, there is a big difference between the two claims. The first claim – that there may be life outside of Earth – is considered plausible by many scientists, due to the vast number of planets in the galaxy. The second claim – that aliens have already arrived on Earth, crashed at Roswell or are being held by the government – requires much stronger evidence. Such evidence has not been presented to date.
A UFO is a question mark, not an answer.
Some of the confusion stems from the word itself. “UFO” sounds almost synonymous with spaceship, but it simply means “unidentified object.” The newer term, UAP, or unidentified anomalous phenomenon, is also intended to broaden the definition and avoid the cultural baggage of the word UFO. But to the general public, an unidentified object quickly becomes “proof” of extraterrestrials.
In practice, UFO investigations are often the gray matter of analyzing data: camera positions, wind speeds, radar data, sensor ranges, aircraft tracks, celestial bodies, balloons, or drones. When there is not enough information, the case remains “unidentified.” This does not mean that the explanation is extraterrestrial; it just means that there is not enough data to determine what it was.
When the word “Alien” moves from space to immigration
Against this backdrop, the White House launched the website Aliens.gov. Ostensibly, the name and design suggest extraterrestrials and UFOs, but in reality the site deals with illegal immigrants and uses the legal meaning of the word Alien – a non-citizen. According to CNN, the site includes images of “classified files,” language reminiscent of alien films, and a map of “alien encounters,” meaning enforcement actions and arrests of immigrants.
Thus, an American wordplay has become a political move. On the one hand, it rides on public curiosity about UFOs and the expectation of the release of government documents. On the other, it uses the same language to frame humans as alien, threatening, and unbelonging. This is not entirely new: in legal English, the word alien was used even before the era of science fiction. But the deliberate connection between extraterrestrials, invasion, and immigration makes it a particularly potent political tool.
The real story, then, is not just a provocative government website. It is the American combination of science, suspicion, popular culture, and politics. As long as the public does not distinguish between “unidentified” and “alien,” and as long as distrust of government is seen by many as proof in itself, UFOs will continue to be much more than a curiosity in the sky. They will remain a mirror of American society itself.
Short FAQ:
Does UFO mean extraterrestrial spaceship? No. A UFO is an unidentified object, and the reason for this could be missing information, unclear photography, a balloon, a drone, a bird, or an atmospheric phenomenon.
Has the Pentagon found evidence of aliens? According to AARO, no verified evidence of extraterrestrial technology has been found to date.
Why do many Americans believe in UFOs? Because of a combination of popular culture, the Roswell affair, distrust of the government, belatedly revealed classified documents, and polls showing widespread belief that the government is hiding information.
More of the topic in Hayadan:
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In response to my previous comment, in which I wrote that the article is very bad because it ignores hundreds of thousands of good to excellent testimonies of sightings of extraterrestrial aircraft, the editor attached a horror movie tag to the comment, ostensibly implying that the commenter is some scared child who uses the UFO issue to fulfill his urges.
We will only mention here the 1947 report of a US Air Force pilot who was not suspected of being drugged, insanity, or any mental disorder, who reported seeing saucer-like aircraft. This report gave rise to the worldwide expression "flying saucer."
The amount of testimonies about aircraft that are described as not being of Israeli origin is enormous. The disregard for this testimony, many of which were given by senior military personnel, such as the commander of the Belgian Air Force, indicates not an open and profound thought,
But about
Mental stereotypes and psychological submission to "authorities" with academic and government degrees.
Very bad article.
Ignores hundreds of thousands of testimonies from all over the world
On observations of non-terrestrial aircraft.
Ignores the testimonies of people in senior positions, people who are completely trustworthy.
If the editor thinks the topic is important, let him have an expert on the subject write, and especially bring in a lot of completely credible evidence about extraterrestrial aircraft.
The real question is why in the popular science press the subject of UFOs occupies such a central place – usually with the “theories” about life in “space” in general – even though there is no evidence for either of these. The real answer is – the need for faith, in this case, neo-pagan superstition. When (today’s Western) culture pushed aside traditional beliefs, religious moral values and the meanings of life derived from them – the very secular need to fill the void, so to speak, appeared. Here is the great opportunity for the heroes and beliefs of modern paganism: green, slant-eyed creatures from super-advanced technological civilizations who visit here as gods or gods, with their chariots that transcend the laws of physics, as acts of miracles.
And suddenly there are enough people with academic degrees who have debunked the fashionable Torah theory of the "certain" existence of life in space, with a great deal of "data" and "signs" of the actual feasibility of this wish. After all, a faith is needed that provides meaning to human life on earth, and if it does not exist - it is simply invented in the form of a messianic technological vision on which redemption rides to the ultimate "progress" in the end times, which, although it may be delayed - will come. The main thing is that until then, one can indulge in vain dreams, and if they are greased with "scientific" research budgets and "prizes" - then why not celebrate the vanity?
The question at the top of the list has a simple answer.
Because many Americans are ignorant
And the greater the ignorance, the greater the chance of a replacement by faith.
Instead of knowledge