Keyboard Subject Matter Experts.

Greetings. The UFO subculture has a thriving population of subject matter experts, people who claim to know answers to the UFO problem, people who label themselves as researchers despite having never publicly shared any peer reviewed papers or investigative results. Let's take a look at the "field."

People who claim to know are as common as a cockroach in a Chinese restaurant. They constantly declare that they have answers, or have experienced direct interactions with extraterrestrials, entities, or space brothers. (Evidently there are no space sisters.) They talk a good game, but their games have nothing of substance, nothing tangible to support their rhetoric. Without such supporting information, the door is left wide open for anyone who wishes to open a Facebook account, or an account on X (Twitter,) to label themselves as they see fit, and with some quality networking, become established as a player in the UFO game. Prior to the arrival of the Internet, people in the UFO field attained a level of notoriety as a result of their investigative endeavors, their publications, their dogged research into the UFO question. The late Coral Lorenzen, her husband Jim Lorenzen, Stanton T. Friedman, Dr. J. Allen Hynek, Dr. James E. McDonald, and Ted Phillips all became well-known in UFO circles because of their dedicated work, their measured words, and certainly not because of any unsubstantiated claims of grandeur. Nowadays, the reverse is the norm, with people like Ryan Sprague, Chris Wolford, Nicole Sakach, and Daniel Alan Jones being referred to as researchers despite having published nothing of any legitimate investigative value. 

Scientific research and the use of the scientific method is strongly discouraged in the UFO subculture, despite what some may say in public. Some "researchers" advocate for the involvement of scientists in the attempt to investigate UFOs, but when scientists reveal the results of their efforts, they are often vilified, called names, and subject to ridicule on social media. Some of the people ridiculing scientists are alleged UFO witnesses, who often complain about being ridiculed themselves. Talk about hypocritical behavior. Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick, the former director of AARO, has been called names and vilified by some in the UFO subculture, likely because the conclusions of the recently released AARO report don't confirm the UFO subculture's biased beliefs; that extraterrestrials have visited the Earth. Credible researchers like Jan Aldrich and Barry Greenwood have critiqued the AARO report, done so in an objective manner, and have found troubling issues with the report itself. However, they both agree with the report's final conclusion, and that speaks to Aldrich's and Greenwood's credibility and professional integrity. Many other "keyboard warriors" in the UFO arena have no such credibility or integrity, choosing instead to declare, attack, and promote, promote, and promote. Can you say Jeremy Corbell, or George Knapp, or Richard Dolan, or Linda Moulton Howe, etc....

The layperson in the UFO subculture has become an essential part of this unfortunate situation. Anyone on the planet can make statements that are completely void of any evidence, and make waves in the UFO arena. Happens all the time. They often claim to be "experiencers" and their stories are blindly accepted as true by the flock populating the UFO subculture. It's akin to a UFO snowball effect; stories become known, and the resulting conversations provide confirmation for the hungry sheep, eager to hear more talk about UFOs. To hell with any evidence. It begs a question: Is there anything the UFO subculture doesn't believe?? In my humble opinion, only one conclusion is steadfastly pushed back against by the UFO subculture; that extraterrestrials have not visited the Earth. 

What any cursory scan of social media accounts reveals is that the posting of selfies and self-promotional efforts rule the day. The less credible "researchers" never seem to actually write anything of substance, with the vast majority of their content comprised of links to other articles, promotional advertisements, and selfies with other celebrities in the UFO subculture. Nothing of substance, no investigative results, and certainly no peer reviewed papers. 

Is this science? No. Is this anything resembling legitimate investigative undertakings? No. It is all entertainment, and the commentary of keyboard subject matter experts. 

Thank you for your time and consideration.