Did the Pentagon spread false UFO stories? We’re skeptical.

The fact that multiple high-ranking officials have claimed firsthand knowledge of secret UFO programs does not square easily with a “bizarre hazing ritual” involving bogus “alien projects.”

According to the Journal, Sean Kirkpatrick, the former director of the Pentagon’s UFO analysis office, uncovered broad hazing practices in which “thousands” of Air Force officers were briefed on secret “alien” activities over several decades. The prank apparently included requiring personnel to sign non-disclosure agreements that carried the threat of jail or execution, leaving officers “scared to death” if they revealed the nonexistent program.

But no evidence of such systemic, widespread hazing about extraterrestrials has yet emerged. Nor can Kirkpatrick and his former office keep their stories straight. A year after supposedly discovering such extensive hazing activity, Kirkpatrick and the Pentagon claimed that longstanding allegations of secret UFO retrieval and reverse-engineering programs are the product of “circular reporting” from a “small group” of alien believers. Yet now, supposedly, “thousands” of personnel were led to believe that such programs exist. Which one is it?