William L. Moore Wasn't Wrong.

Greetings. William L. Moore. The 1989 MUFON International Symposium. Those who are relatively familiar with UFO history will recognize the significance of Mr. Moore and the events of that summer's Symposium. 

I will not comment on the actions of Mr. Moore or of some of the attendees of that year's Symposium, but one comment that Mr. Moore made during the course of his presentation spoke volumes at the time, and continues to carry substantial weight in today's UFO environment. Mr. Moore stated, and I quote:

"Those who want proof of how well the process works need only look around you. Every time one of you repeats an unverified or unsubstantiated bit of information without qualifying it as such, you are contributing to that process, and every time you do it, someone in a need to know position sits back and has a horselaugh at your expense." 

William Moore wasn't wrong.

In today's social media driven UFO subculture, the posting and sharing of unsubstantiated content happens all the time. People share links and articles without considering if the information contained within has been determined to be valid. Don't believe me? Ask someone on Facebook, or X, or any other platform the following question, "Has this link's/article's content been examined to determine its validity?" I have asked that particular question hundreds of times, with the vast majority of people responding with a troubling "I don't know!" or an even more disturbing "Does that matter?" 

UFO archivists and researchers are painfully aware of the damage that Richard Doty has done to the UFO subculture, actively spreading untruths, disinformation, and misinformation whenever the opportunity arises. Unfortunately, the UFO subculture itself presents Mr. Doty with such opportunities, giving him a platform on different shows and podcasts to spread his lies. It is a sobering situation to say the least, for those who actually care about the way the UFO problem is tackled and addressed. The situation is made all the worse by UFO enthusiasts, with invalid beliefs and information consistently being embraced as true, valid, and accurate. Such ill-advised actions muddy the ufological waters, making it difficult to discern the accurate from the nonsense, the grounded from the "woo," the legitimate from the hoaxed. Whenever someone posts or shares some bit of unsubstantiated information, they become a misinformation agent of sorts, a Richard Doty Jr., minus the knowing smile and reptilian demeanor. 

People often discuss an alleged effort by the U.S. government to conduct a misinformation campaign against the general public. There is absolutely no need for such a program, the UFO subculture misinforms itself, no problem. Saves the taxpayers some cash, and saves the powers that be the trouble. If anyone reading this writing has any respect for the UFO topic, I strongly encourage you to exercise extreme caution when posting or sharing unsubstantiated information, it may be untrue, and if so, then that damages the entire UFO subculture. We don't need more problems, we already have the UFO problem to solve. 

Thank you for your time and consideration.