Top 5 Myths About UFOs and Aliens

Although the field of ufology has evolved dramatically over the years, collecting more and more credible witnesses, cases, and voices, may people still hold outdated myths about UFOs. Americans have grown up watching fiction movies and reading fiction books about flying saucers and aliens, after all, so it's easy to overlook the nonfiction side of things. Whether or not extraterrestrials are visiting planet Earth, UFOs definitely are, so let's debunk the top 5 myths about them...

5. Only Loons Believe in UFOs and Aliens

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Many,  if not most sightings of unidentified flying objects are reported anonymously. That's because witnesses fear criticism and judgment from  their peers if they share about what they have seen. However, the truth is that many UFO witnesses are actually highly intelligent, high-ranking, and highly trusted. That's right! NASA astronauts, CIA directors, FBI agents, US Presidents, military generals, and more have all discussed their personal encounters and knowledge of UFOs and even aliens! The witnesses of some of the more famous and well-documented cases out there (like Roswell, the Phoenix Lights, and the Rendlesham UFO Incident) are more often than not members of the military, US Air Force, and police,  not jokers or people unfamiliar with aviation. The CIA's first intelligence director Roscoe Hillenkoetter, for example, stated publicly: "Behind the scenes, high-ranking Air Force officers are soberly concerned about UFOs. But through official secrecy and ridicule, many citizens are led to believe the unknown flying objects are nonsense."

• Read: Whistle-blower Testimony: Pieces of Roswell Flying Saucer First Flown to Fort Worth

4. UFOs Became Popular in the 40s and 50s

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The 1947 Roswell crash definitely ushered in a wave of science fiction comics and films. In 1950, the first-ever film depicting the typical alien flying saucer was released. It was called, unsurprisingly, "The Flying Saucer." Not long after that,  in the 60s and going into the 80s, the first and most famous alien abduction cases in the US occurred. So, it's not necessarily a myth to say that UFOs, as we imagine them today - flying saucers with little green men in them - became popular in the 40s and 50s. However, UFOs, as we define them literally - unidentified flying objects - have been with us for a very long time. Did you know that one of the first recorded crashes of an alien spaceship actually occurred in Aurora, Texas in 1897, or that in 1801, a large moon-like UFO was reported over the UK? There are even documented sightings of UFOs going back to the 8th century, with countless ancient texts and artworks centering around strange areal phenomena.

3. UFOs Are Always "Alien" in Nature

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While it's a valid theory that aliens are visiting Earth, that does not mean that all UFOs are  extraterrestrial in origin. Many unidentified flying objects can be explained as meteors, top-secret military planes, drones, fireworks, flares, Chinese lanterns, ball lightning, etc., but that doesn't make them less worthwhile of investigation, as these objects can be newsworthy (like a drone invading someone's privacy, or a falling meteor with dangerous debris). Furthermore, the real truth about UFOs is still up for grabs. Besides aliens, modern researchers also theorize that UFOs could be advanced, man-made craft (perhaps reverse engineered from alien craft, or belonging to foreign enemies), powerful atmospheric phenomena that could be harnessed to generate "free energy," crashing satellites and other space junk or asteroids that NASA doesn't want us to know about, and more.

2. UFOs Are Being Kept Top-Secret

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Government agents investigate UFOs in secret, stamping "top secret" or "classified" on just about every document they file, and quickly scooping up  and covering up any evidence they find. The secret is out, though, and has been for a while. Today, you can go on government websites and browse declassified files on everything from the CIA's psychic remote viewing program to Roswell. The NSA and the FBI have both released their UFO files to the American people, and many credible, high-ranking members of the US government and military have all gone on record about their belief in UFOs and aliens. Although many photos, videos and testimony about UFOs often get debunked as a "hoax" by the mainstream media, the evidence is so persistent and ongoing that it somehow always manages to reach the masses. The phenomenon simply is too big and too real to be kept a secret.

1. UFOs Are Not Real

This is not just the most obvious UFO myth, it's also the most important one! Now that we have enough evidence and government disclosure to conclude that unidentified flying objects are real, we probably should move on  to conversations about their origin and the implication of their existence for mankind. However, as long as people still believe that UFOs are just a myth, then Disclosure no doubt has a long way to go.

What do you think of these Top 5 UFO Myths? Do you have any to add? Share your thoughts on this story and more in the comments or on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.