Debunkers and UForprofitology

originally posted by: ConfusedBrit

originally posted by: beyondknowledge

UFO does not mean flying saucer, space ship, time ship, dimension ship, etc... it literally means “I don’t know”
Unidentified Flying Object

Yet in the general public's opinion, "UFO" is indeed synonymous shorthand for "Alien/ET", hence why the British MoD first opted for "UAP" instead (the acronym had been around previously, but rarely used), now becoming the accepted general acronym in the West.

The problem is that people will just say, "Oh, 'UAP'? That's the new name for potential alien craft coz they were too embarrassed to use 'UFO'..."

And so a brand new term will have to be created to replace UAP, and so on, ad-infinitum...

The acronym "UFO" was long associated with a mindset of disbelief and lunacy thanks solely to Hollywood movies sponsored by the CIA as a means to discredit anyone who used the term "UFO".

Now the narrative has shifted so the CIA has to change the perception, hence the new acronym "UAP". UAP is now being used by "reputable" and "credible" sources such as the US Navy, US Army, and the DOD. Therefore it now lends greater perceived credibility when used in public. Yet, as you so correctly pointed out, the meaning is still exactly the same.

Which brings me back to my long standing question I've been asking now since 2017. Why after 60+ years of denial has the US military and the US government openly used the MSM as a propaganda machine to spread the "new" UAP information? That is to say I've been a long term believer that anything that is mainstream news has 100% been curated for the public consumption. Meaning I don't believe a large part of what is being presented.

However, I do believe there is a hidden agenda on the part of the new machine driving this. What that agenda is I do not know.

People sell information for a living. I have no issues with someone charging to read, hear, or attend their events specific to UFOlogy. It's capitalism. People are free to choose to spend their money on whatever they like and it in no way discredits that person or information.

Ironically, the same argument can be used against the debunkers. Every debunker source makes money in the same way the UFO peeps do yet I never hear them being vilified for making money off of their services.

The irony.

I formally retired from media production years ago, I'll tell you we saw these people all the time. Talentless, uneducated uncreative, yet with a burning desire to be someone.

All I'll say is, you wouldn't go to Coast to Coast Am or any of their affiliates if you had actual, real information about these mysterious topics.

At least it's not as sad as talentless comedians who steal entire personas on top of jokes and hopes no one notices. Or as disgusting as cult leaders whose flock never bothers to question why the Floridia born 2nd coming of Christ can't speak but one language.

a reply to: EnigmaChaser

Even creating a 10 million dollar prize wouldn't bring out the physical evidence needed to prove the existence of aliens on Earth. Thinking that it's only hidden or will be because of the fear of ridicule, threats, etc. is just another in a slew of excuses given for why real evidence has never been found. What it would do is bring out people thinking they can prove it while providing absolutely nothing. It will only further the mockery of the subject.
 
James Randi initially offered a $1,000 prize which grew to $1,000,000 to show evidence of paranormal ability. After many attempts and 45 years, it was never collected and never proven.

The easy outlet to publicly show evidence, is here. It's no longer only spoken or read about as it was in the past. I can imagine today finding physical evidence that's filmed with a cell phone and put up on YouTube to begin its provenence. Then taking a small piece and having it studied. Of course it first  being volunteerly analyzed by those already steeped in the UFO/alien field to draw attention, but then not freely shared with those in the general scientific community to be confirmed by several unbiased labs/sources. It always ends up being lost or misplaced. This is the outcome of the evidence that's been shown over and over through the hands of believers not skeptics. Roger Leir's supposed alien implants is a good example. A documentary is made where an implant is studied and shown to have unusual properties. But this is where the study ends because the evidence conviently disappears preventing further unbiased scientific study. And it's still missing and there's no accountability here. Are we supposed to be so naive and ignorant to just accept these obvious biased findings and believe without further real testing?

Physical evidence would likely come from the general public, not a funded program in a search for it. This is shown by the thousands of claims by average citizens of physical abductions. This is our best chance for evidence. A photo or video is visual evidence and lacks the physical evidence that is needed to prove extraordinary phenomenon. Repeated abductees seem to lack simple common sense even for visual evidence. Installing some form of visual capture like CCTV inside or outside the home is cheap and something that would help substantiate their story. They come up with excuses like they're in a trance-like state or the aliens know when they're being recorded. Yet CCTV is no-hands recording and no one has shown a malfunctioning camera attempt.

A scientific approach and study was taken by J Allen Hynek for 25+ years. He had the funds and knowledge to find the evidence needed. He visited sites, did interviews, collected photos and so forth. At the time of his death, his conclusion was still the same as the beginning. He had theories but said the subject needed more intensive study. Of course because he couldn't find physical evidence, some diehard believers couldn't accept this and turned Hynek into a "disinfo agent" and shill for the government when he was most likely genuinely interested, but just couldn't find physical evidence. Why is this so difficult for some believers to accept? They want so badly for this to be real that another part of their tactic, along with creating excuses, is to ridicule and to try to sully the work of someone sincerely looking. Sad.

originally posted by: Blue Shift

originally posted by: beyondknowledge
The problem I see with no new evidence is the internet and commonly carried cameras. Knowledge is available to all to just look it up. You have someone saying “I saw a UFO. Here is the video.” I look at the video and it is of a helicopter. The person will not admit that I have identified the object and insists on what they saw as being something else.

It's too bad MUFON doesn't have a comment section, although if it did I'd probably just be screaming at people all the time time on it, "That's a lens flare, you idiot!" or "That's a bird!" "That's a window reflection!". I wish they had a little video on the homepage that showed common junk images and video that you had to look at before you post. ""Think you filmed a UFO? Think again, pal!"

Fortunately, the number of people who think they're going to get a wad of money for proving the existence of aliens is not that high anymore. There's a market surplus in proof of aliens.

Is anybody getting rich from UFOs? I highly doubt it. It's still a fringe interest. A person can make way more money by commenting about some dumb tweet posted by a Kardashian than some fuzzy video of an indistinct floating "orb.". I ain't gonna pay for that crap.

Lazar just got his hoax documentary on Netflix and was likely paid handsomely for the rights. I don't know the deal but it might even involve number of views which seems to be very high.
But people who write ufo books are not aiming for "rich", they just need to pay the bills. For a writer that is light years better than having to work at Target during the day to make ends meet.
Taking a balanced look at ufos probably produces less sales than full-on pro-ufo books so I'm highly skeptical of most writers.