Should hoaxing UFOs be illegal?

Should there be an (international) law that forbids hoaxing UFOs?
And what punishment should it get?

Maybe at the same time they should outlaw gullability. Hang on they have! I read somewhere it has been removed from the dictionary.

If you outlaw hoaxing, then who is going to say if something is a hoax or real to be able to judge it?

Good question, but more or less impossible.

How would it be 'policed' ?

And what about crop circle hoax's.

Sanc'.

Only the ones that are proven to be hoaxed, like the brain bessent fake phoenix UFO. This will also force the police to investigate ufos.

Thats not to bad of an idea! I guess if people thought they might be punished for creating a hoax then less people would be inclined to do it for a laughor a wind up! As far as a punishment goes they should be strung up by there short an curlies and be paraded on national tv see how funny they think that is

Hoaxing is a very vital tool for cover-ups,so it's not going to happen. I wouldn't be surprised if a large chunk of the hoaxes are government sponsored.

But then people will be too scared to come forward with sightings

But yeah, hoaxes should not be taken as a joke.

Can't do that!!

How could we hold elections?

Originally posted by plop
Should there be an (international) law that forbids hoaxing UFOs?
And what punishment should it get?

No it shouldn't. People with at least 1/4 brain can sort this stuff out for themselves. As long as no harm/pain comes to anyone what's the problem? Hoaxsters aren't anywhere's near being good anyway.

I don't think it's a good idea.
It won't stop people from doing it, it'll just stop them from owning up and saying it's a hoax.
At least now, if someone hoaxes a UFO they sometimes admit to it. But if it's illegal they won't because they'd get arrested/fined.

No it shouldn't be.

Since the official government stance is that these things don't exist then anyone claiming "whitness" would be guilty by default and arrested or fined and there would be even less people sharing information.

I'd rather be able to sift through claims (true and false) and draw my own conclusion, than to have nothing at all available to research due to peoples' fear of coming forward being amplified by a new law.

[edit on 10/10/05 by redmage]

Let's consider UFOS being a national security breech for a moment, if that is so, was it against the law to report seeing a Russian MIG in the 80s?, like screaming "fire" in a movie theater? Idunno, faked cases are annoying.

However it will never be a crime, it only discredits all of us, which serves their purpose.

You will never see it become illegal, for several reasons. First and foremost, the sheer number of blatant hoaxes out there helps to discredit those that actually do have real experiences, thus relegating the notion of UFOs to a "whacked out subculture", and keeping it from mainstream science. This is precicely the effect that is desired by those who wish to cover up real UFO encounters.

Secondly, if it were to become a law, it would be possible that every science fiction filmmaker with a halfway decent budget could be charged with a crime. After all, didn't the alien spacecraft in Independence Day, Star Trek (the newer films), Star Wars, and other such alien involved science fiction films (and even in TV shows, such as The X Files) look awfully realistic?

It would hinder the release of true information, because people would be afraid of debunkers trying to prove it a hoax, and the possible criminal charges associated with it.

Hoaxes are highly annoying, but as with anything, you have to take the bullcrap along with the truth, and sort it out for yourself. There's no need, want, or desire for a law against such things.

[edit on 12-10-2005 by obsidian468]

A law to punish hoaxer's...

Well - Bush likes torture... Why the heck not?!

Anyway.... This whole planet seems to be a hoax these days... Why don't we punish the whole planet..?



We just can't punish people enough these days... Slap them in the face.. Disable them with torture...Make car bombs and blow up the world trade centers...

It's all about punisment..

But a small fine...Or a direct TV show - where we pour water over their heads..In full public view...
Can only be done the day these aliens, human or not...Come here...And we all know it's for very very real...

But when those days come - The hoaxer's will disappear... Cause they are part of the box mentality...

This world are in ignorance... And that's why we have the hoaxers... They are just part of the on going global changes... They are really like serial killers... Killing the "spirit of progress.."

They for some part have the role of keeping us awake in a sense...

Wich makes me personally look for signs of false testimony...

But at the same time.... It is sure disturbing that this planet need this bad karma ongoing for ages. We can't trust anything....And it's really a shame...For the planet.

The hoaxers really just create karma... It is like creating lies... It really makes no progress. And sort of stops the study of this subject of other civilisations...

They think of it "as a joke"... Even though they can split families...and Freindships...MAke people commit suicide.

They create an illusion... And it's really bad...

But expect it to happend... And you will see it next time it come along.

No. Because aliens are behind most hoaxing, and they are very happy to stir debate. They like to see all that BS about aliens, to make fools of humans. Not for longg, these species are not welcome here.

"Not for longg, these species are not welcome here."

Webstar, more and more I'm uncomfortable with their presence also,but maybe I'm wrong.

One word - YES!

But it will never happen. The government likes to see UFO hoaxes rather than real alien craft or their own advanced air craft on film...

then the government would be taking in people with real stuff and saying they hoaxed it... so I dont think its such a smart idea anyways to ban hoaxing.

Originally posted by meshuggah1324
One word - YES!

But it will never happen. The government likes to see UFO hoaxes rather than real alien craft or their own advanced air craft on film...

The government has a LOT more to worry about than hoaxed UFO reports.

Like stopping Britney Spears, Ashley Simpson, Paris Hilton and "reality" and "fixer up" shows for example....

Tom

Hoaxing crop circles is illegal, I think
Damaging a farmers crop to make pretty pictures is illegal, least I hope so.