Within Media
The modern mainstreaming of unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) is often traced to a single newspaper story. In December 2017, The New York Times published “Glowing Auras and ‘Black Money’: The Pentagon’s Mysterious U.F.O. Program”, revealing that the US government had funded an effort connected to the investigation of unusual aerial reports.
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Introduction
That reframing had lasting effects. It lowered the reputational risk for mainstream journalists covering the topic, encouraged subsequent reporting by major outlets, and helped create a pathway from UFO culture into congressional hearings, Pentagon briefings, and official investigations. At the same time, later government reviews complicated some of the assumptions embedded in the original narrative, raising questions about how the story was sourced and interpreted. [WIRED]wired.comWill The New York Times Ever Stop Reporting on UFOs?Their initial story revealed a Pentagon program investigating such phenomena, which generated significant public and media interest. Desp…
What the 2017 Story Actually Reported
The 2017 article centred on three claims that were highly unusual coming from a newspaper of record.
First, it reported that the Pentagon had funded a programme commonly identified as the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP), supported by congressional interest and linked to investigations of unusual aerial incidents. Second, it included military witness testimony, particularly accounts from Navy aviators who described encounters with objects they could not identify. Third, it published military videos that appeared to show unusual aerial targets observed by US pilots. [X (formerly Twitter]x.comX (formerly Twitter)The Pentagon's Mysterious UFO Program (Published 2017)The Pentagon has acknowledged a secret program to investigate U… [Wikipedia]WikipediaPentagon UFO videosPentagon UFO videos"Pentagon has 'no credible evidence' of aliens or UFOs that defy physics". Space.com. Archived from the original on…
Individually, none of these elements was entirely new. UFO researchers had long discussed government interest in the subject. What was new was the combination of official sources, named participants, government funding records, military witnesses, and visual evidence presented in a prestigious national newspaper. The story effectively told editors that UFO reporting no longer belonged exclusively on science-fiction, entertainment, or fringe-interest pages. It could be covered as a Washington story. [Vanity Fair]vanityfair.comVanity Fair"We May Not Be Alone": Inside the Times's U.F.OReportIn 2017, The New York Times published a groundbreaking front-page story revealing a secret Pentagon program dedicated to investigat…
The article’s language also mattered. Rather than arguing that alien spacecraft existed, it focused on what government institutions were doing, what officials believed was worth investigating, and how taxpayer-funded programmes operated. That framing allowed journalists to report on the topic without endorsing extraordinary conclusions. [WIRED]wired.comwhat is up with those pentagon ufo videosThe article included videos of UAPs and featured accounts from Navy pilots. The program, Advanced Aviation Threat Identification Program…
Why Official Sources Changed the Editorial Threshold
For decades, mainstream editors often regarded UFO stories as reputationally risky. Anonymous witnesses, unverifiable photographs, and speculative claims rarely met conventional reporting standards. The 2017 New York Times story altered that calculation because it relied heavily on institutional sources rather than civilian anecdotes. [Vanity Fair]vanityfair.comVanity Fair"We May Not Be Alone": Inside the Times's U.F.OReportIn 2017, The New York Times published a groundbreaking front-page story revealing a secret Pentagon program dedicated to investigat…
Several editorial thresholds were crossed simultaneously:
- Named government participants were willing to speak publicly.
- Documented government spending could be verified.
- Military pilots described encounters on the record.
- Official videos became part of the story.
- National-security implications provided a conventional news hook. [X (formerly Twitter]x.comX (formerly Twitter)The Pentagon's Mysterious UFO Program (Published 2017)The Pentagon has acknowledged a secret program to investigate U… [WIRED]wired.comWill The New York Times Ever Stop Reporting on UFOs?Their initial story revealed a Pentagon program investigating such phenomena, which generated significant public and media interest. Desp…
The result was a shift from the question “Are UFOs real?” to a more journalistically manageable question: “Why is the government investigating these reports?” That distinction was crucial. Editors did not need to endorse extraordinary explanations. They only needed to establish that government agencies and military personnel considered the issue significant enough to warrant attention. [WIRED]wired.comwhat is up with those pentagon ufo videosThe article included videos of UAPs and featured accounts from Navy pilots. The program, Advanced Aviation Threat Identification Program…
This new frame also encouraged follow-up reporting. Subsequent stories focused on Navy reporting procedures, military encounters, congressional interest, and later Pentagon assessments. The subject increasingly appeared alongside defence, intelligence, and aviation coverage rather than in sections devoted to mysteries or unexplained phenomena. [WIRED]wired.comwill the new york times ever stop reporting on ufosPentagon Drops New UFO Files. The Defense Department …Read more
The Power of Reframing Rather Than Proving
The lasting influence of the 2017 article came less from the facts it revealed than from the narrative structure it established.
Before the article, a typical UFO story often centred on belief: believers versus sceptics, witnesses versus debunkers, mystery versus explanation. After the article, many mainstream reports adopted a different framework:
Earlier framingPost-2017 framingStrange sightingsMilitary encountersCivilian witnessesTrained military observersAlien speculationIntelligence and defence questionsFringe subcultureGovernment oversight issueBelief and disbeliefEvidence and investigation
This shift did not eliminate sensational coverage, but it provided a template that other news organisations could follow. Reporting became easier to justify because it could be presented as scrutiny of institutions rather than endorsement of extraordinary claims. [WIRED]wired.comwill the new york times ever stop reporting on ufosPentagon Drops New UFO Files. The Defense Department …Read more
The influence spread beyond newspapers. Television networks, magazines, podcasts, and documentary producers increasingly framed UAP stories around official investigations, classified programmes, and military testimony. The vocabulary itself changed, with “UAP” gradually replacing “UFO” in many mainstream contexts. [The New Yorker]newyorker.comhow the pentagon started taking ufos seriouslypeople,” although she stands apart from the ufological mainstream. “It's not necessarily…Read more…
How Later AARO Corrections Complicated the Narrative
The most significant challenge to the original framing emerged from later government reviews, particularly the 2024 historical report issued by the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO). [U.S. Department of War]media.defense.govDOPSR 2024 0263 AARO HISTORICAL RECORD REPORT VOLUME 1 2024Department of WarAARO Historical Record Report Volume 18 Mar 2024 — SECTION I: Introduction. This report represents Volume I of the All-d…
AARO concluded that public understanding of AATIP had become simplified and, in some respects, inaccurate. According to the report, the programme history was more complex than the public narrative that developed after 2017. The office argued that the larger Defence Intelligence Agency effort known as AAWSAP played a central role and that subsequent public descriptions often blurred distinctions between different programmes and activities. [U.S. Department of War]war.govdod report discounts sightings of extraterrestrial technologyDepartment of WarDOD Report Discounts Sightings of Extraterrestrial…8 Mar 2024 — "AARO has found no verifiable evidence that any UAP s…
The report also stated that investigators found no verified evidence that government-held materials or recovered craft demonstrated extraterrestrial origins. AARO further argued that some later claims about secret retrieval programmes rested on assumptions that could not be substantiated through the historical record it examined. [U.S. Department of War]war.govdod report discounts sightings of extraterrestrial technologyDepartment of WarDOD Report Discounts Sightings of Extraterrestrial…8 Mar 2024 — "AARO has found no verifiable evidence that any UAP s…
These findings did not erase the significance of the 2017 article. The Pentagon had indeed examined unusual reports, and military personnel had reported encounters that attracted official attention. However, the corrections highlighted a tension that has shaped UAP coverage ever since: a story can successfully move a topic into the mainstream while still leaving important factual disputes unresolved. [U.S. Department of War]war.govdod report discounts sightings of extraterrestrial technologyDepartment of WarDOD Report Discounts Sightings of Extraterrestrial…8 Mar 2024 — "AARO has found no verifiable evidence that any UAP s…
The Lasting Legacy of the NYT Shift
The enduring impact of the 2017 New York Times story is not that it convinced mainstream journalists that extraterrestrial technology exists. Rather, it convinced many editors that the subject could be covered responsibly without making that claim.
By anchoring UFO reporting to government records, military testimony, and institutional accountability, the article changed the rules of engagement for mainstream news organisations. The question became less about belief and more about investigation. That shift helped transform UAP from a marginal topic into a recurring subject of national reporting, congressional scrutiny, and official review. [Vanity Fair]vanityfair.comVanity Fair"We May Not Be Alone": Inside the Times's U.F.OReportIn 2017, The New York Times published a groundbreaking front-page story revealing a secret Pentagon program dedicated to investigat… [WIRED At the same time]wired.comWill The New York Times Ever Stop Reporting on UFOs?Their initial story revealed a Pentagon program investigating such phenomena, which generated significant public and media interest. Desp…, later disputes over AATIP, AAWSAP, and the interpretation of official evidence demonstrate that mainstream acceptance did not settle the underlying questions. Instead, the New York Times story created a new phase of the debate—one in which arguments increasingly occur inside the institutions of journalism, government, and national security rather than solely on the fringes of UFO culture. [U.S. Department of War+2U.S. Department of War]
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Endnotes
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Source: wired.com
Title: Will The New York Times Ever Stop Reporting on UFOs?
Link: https://www.wired.com/story/will-the-new-york-times-ever-stop-reporting-on-ufosSource snippet
Their initial story revealed a Pentagon program investigating such phenomena, which generated significant public and [media]({{ 'media/' | relative_url }}) interest. Desp...
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Source: media.defense.gov
Title: DOPSR 2024 0263 AARO HISTORICAL RECORD REPORT VOLUME 1 2024
Link: https://media.defense.gov/2024/Mar/08/2003409233/-1/-1/0/DOPSR-2024-0263-AARO-HISTORICAL-RECORD-REPORT-VOLUME-1-2024.PDFSource snippet
Department of WarAARO Historical Record Report Volume 18 Mar 2024 — SECTION I: Introduction. This report represents Volume I of the All-d...
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Source: Wikipedia
Title: Pentagon UFO videos
Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentagon_UFO_videosSource snippet
Pentagon UFO videos"Pentagon has 'no credible evidence' of aliens or UFOs that defy physics". Space.com. Archived from the original on...
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Source: wired.com
Title: what is up with those pentagon ufo videos
Link: https://www.wired.com/story/what-is-up-with-those-pentagon-ufo-videosSource snippet
The article included videos of UAPs and featured accounts from Navy pilots. The program, Advanced Aviation Threat Identification Program...
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Source: war.gov
Title: dod report discounts sightings of extraterrestrial technology
Link: https://www.war.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/3701297/dod-report-discounts-sightings-of-extraterrestrial-technology/Source snippet
Department of WarDOD Report Discounts Sightings of Extraterrestrial...8 Mar 2024 — "AARO has found no verifiable evidence that any UAP s...
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Source: Wikipedia
Title: Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program
Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Aerospace_Threat_Identification_ProgramSource snippet
Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program... US government's storage location for the crashed alien craft for study.Read more...
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Source: Wikipedia
Title: UFO Report (U.S. Intelligence)
Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UFO_Report_%28U.S._Intelligence%29Source snippet
UFO Report (U.S. Intelligence)↑ Cooper, Blumenthal and Kean (December 16, 2017). "Glowing Auras and 'Black Money': The Pentagon's Myst...
Published: December 16, 2017
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Source: Wikipedia
Title: All domain Anomaly Resolution Office
Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All-domain_Anomaly_Resolution_OfficeSource snippet
All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office... AARO. In March 2024, AARO released a report titled "Report on the Historical Record of U.S. Go...
Published: March 2024
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Source: aaro.mil
Link: https://www.aaro.mil/Source snippet
AARO HomeOur team of experts leads the U.S. government's efforts to address Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) using a rigorous scien...
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Source: x.com
Link: https://x.com/nytimes/status/942080653427953665Source snippet
X (formerly Twitter)The Pentagon's Mysterious UFO Program (Published 2017)The Pentagon has acknowledged a secret program to investigate U...
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Source: vanityfair.com
Title: Vanity Fair”We May Not Be Alone”: Inside the Times’s U.F.O
Link: https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/12/we-may-not-be-alone-ufo-report-timesSource snippet
ReportIn 2017, The New York Times published a groundbreaking front-page story revealing a secret Pentagon program dedicated to investigat...
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Source: newyorker.com
Title: how the pentagon started taking ufos seriously
Link: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/05/10/how-the-pentagon-started-taking-ufos-seriouslySource snippet
people,” although she stands apart from the ufological mainstream. “It's not necessarily...Read more...
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Source: dictionary.cambridge.org
Link: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/newSource snippet
English meaning - Cambridge DictionaryNEW definition: 1. recently created or having started to exist recently: 2. different from one th...
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Source: newyorker.com
Link: https://www.newyorker.com/ -
Source: scribd.com
Link: https://www.scribd.com/document/778056977/Glowing-Auras-and-Black-Money-the-Pentagon-s-Mysterious-U-F-O-Program-The-New-York-TimesSource snippet
The New York Times - Free download as PDF File (.pdf), Text File (.txt) or read...
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Source: merriam-webster.com
Link: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/newSource snippet
having recently come into existence: recent, modern I saw their new baby for the first time. 2. a (1): having been seen, used, or known...
Additional References
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Source: facebook.com
Link: https://www.facebook.com/APNews/posts/us-officials-have-endeavored-to-find-answers-to-legions-of-reported-ufo-sighting/797318352256076/Source snippet
APThe program spent about $22 million investigating reports of unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP, the modern term for what used to be ca...
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Source: fas.org
Link: https://fas.org/publication/aatip-list/Source snippet
More Light on Black Program to Track UFOsSee “Glowing Auras and 'Black Money': The Pentagon's Mysterious U.F.O. Program” by Helene Cooper...
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Source: collinsdictionary.com
Link: https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/newSource snippet
a. recently made or brought into being · 2. of a kind never before existing; novel · 3. having existed before but...Read more...
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Source: punkrockandufos.com
Title: exclusive journalist ralph blumenthal talks new york times latest ufo coverage
Link: https://www.punkrockandufos.com/blog/2019/5/28/exclusive-journalist-ralph-blumenthal-talks-new-york-times-latest-ufo-coverageSource snippet
punk rock and UFOsJournalist Ralph Blumenthal talks New York Times latest...28 May 2019 — When the New York Times published the piece ti...
Published: May 2019
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Source: studocu.com
Title: aaro historical record report on us government uap involvement vol i 2024
Link: https://www.studocu.com/pt-br/document/instituto-federal-de-educacao-ciencia-e-tecnologia-da-paraiba-ifpb-campus-campina-grande/lingua-estrangeira/aaro-historical-record-report-on-us-government-uap-involvement-vol-i-2024/137178259Source snippet
AARO Historical Record Report on U.S. Government UAP...6 Mar 2024 — This report examines the historical involvement of the U.S. governme...
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Source: cle.ens-lyon.fr
Title: 18 december 2017 secret pentagon program spent millions to research ufos
Link: https://cle.ens-lyon.fr/anglais/key-story/archives-revue-de-presse-2017/18-december-2017-secret-pentagon-program-spent-millions-to-research-ufosSource snippet
Pentagon Program Spent Millions To Research UFOs18 Dec 2017 — Pentagon admits it ran secret multimillion-dollar UFO programme between 200...
Published: december 2017
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Source: youtube.com
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XD4gQS_-qYSource snippet
The UFO Lie: Shocking truth of Pentagon AAWSAP programThe pentagon via the defense intelligence agency created a ufo program called the a...
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Source: defensescoop.com
Title: uap aaro chief unveils pentagon annual caseload analysis new efforts
Link: https://defensescoop.com/2024/11/14/uap-aaro-chief-unveils-pentagon-annual-caseload-analysis-new-efforts/Source snippet
'The truly anomalous': New AARO chief unveils Pentagon's...14 Nov 2024 — Included in those are the 757 new reports that were submitted b...
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Source: theguardian.com
Title: pentagon admits running secret ufo investigation for five years
Link: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/dec/17/pentagon-admits-running-secret-ufo-investigation-for-five-yearsSource snippet
Pentagon admits running secret UFO investigation for five...16 Dec 2017 — The truth is finally out there, after the Pentagon admitted it...
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Source: reddit.com
Link: https://www.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/7kaauj/glowing_auras_and_black_money_the_pentagons/Source snippet
December 17, 2017, The New York Times published the article "Glowing Auras and 'Black Money': The Pentagon's Mysterious U.F.O...Read more...
Published: December 17, 2017
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