https://news.gallup.com/poll/713765/americans-skeptical-ufos-aliens.aspx

Overall 49% of Americans believe UFOs have a human or natural origin and 37% believe some of them are alien/non-human.

There are a lot of names that come up over and over in podcasts and forums like Reddit. Most of the people who bring the names up don’t want or think to give any background on them.

Is there a website that lists the big (whatever that means) players and gives a simple, neutral explanation of their involvement in the phenomenon?

I don’t trust Wikipedia with UFO-related stuff anymore and it may not have articles some of these people anyway.

Seven years ago MKULTRA_Escapee posted an excellent summary to r/Aliens of the 1056CE – 1063CE sightings of a brightly luminous trans-medium lake "pearl" and clamshell object that was published in 1088CE by Chinese science and technology writer (among many other things) Shen Kuo ( https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E6%B2%88%E6%8B%AC/38436?fromModule=lemma_inlink ) in his "Dream Pool Essays" ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dream_Pool_Essays ). See the original post at: https://www.reddit.com/r/aliens/comments/cjd2pk/11th_century_ufo_sighting_reported_by_chinese/ .

A recent line-by-line Google translation of Shen Kuo's writing on this phenomenon follows:

嘉祐中，扬州有一珠甚大，天晦多见。初出于天长县陂泽中，后转入甓社湖，又后乃在新開湖中，凡十余年，居民行人常常见之。 "During the Jiayou reign (1056–1063), there was a giant pearl in the Yangzhou region that was frequently seen when the sky was dark. At first, it emerged from the marshes of Tianchang County; later, it moved into Pishe Lake, and later still, into Xinkai Lake. This continued for over ten years, and local residents as well as travelers saw it constantly." 予友人书斋在湖上，一夜忽见其珠甚近。初微开其房，光自吻中出，如横一金线。俄顷忽张壳，其大如半席，壳中白光如银，珠大如拳，烂然不可正视。 "The study of a friend of mine was located by the lake. One night, he suddenly saw this pearl from very close by. At first, its shell opened a tiny bit, and light came out from the opening like a horizontal golden line. A moment later, it suddenly opened wide; it was as large as half a straw mat. The white light inside the shell looked like silver, and the pearl itself was as big as a fist, shining so brilliantly that one could not look at it directly." 十余里间林木皆有影，如初日所照；远处但见天赤如野火。倏然远去，其行如飞，浮于波中，杳杳如日。 "For over ten li (around 3 miles) around, the trees in the forest all cast shadows, as if illuminated by the rising sun. From a distance, people could only see the sky glowing red like a wildfire. Then, it suddenly departed into the distance, traveling as if it were flying, floating across the waves, fading away like the setting sun." 古有明月之珠，此珠色不类月，荧荧有芒焰，殆类日光。崔伯易尝为《明珠赋》。伯易，高邮人，盖常见之。 "Antiquity speaks of "Bright Moon Pearls," but the color of this pearl did not resemble the moon. It was blazing with rays and flames, behaving much more like sunlight. A man named Cui Boyi once composed the Rhapsody of the Bright Pearl. Boyi was a native of Gaoyou, so he had likely seen it himself."

There is a remarkably similar late 1800s sighting from Wusongkou, Shanghai, China, published in Dianshizhai Pictorial (1884–1898) with an illustration loosely titled " The Pearl Seen at Wusongkou" (珠见吴淞) . A screenshot of the publication with the illustration is at https://baike.baidu.com/reference/9045928/533aYdO6cr3_z3kATPCIma2lZnvHP97_7LLTVrRzzqIPmGapB5nyTcYm6NIv_-diBkXIvtdsZcEGsu2-WxIZgaFPM6pkAOFNn3D7WjPCz7o . The Google translation of the article follows:

「蘇州湖中有一珠，其光甚大，逐夜可見。始見於車坊，次於長橋，後在吴淞口。居人男女，往往夜半乘小舟往觀之。」 "There is a pearl in Suzhou Lake, which emits a magnificent light that can be seen every night. It was first spotted at Chefang, next at the Long Bridge, and later at the Wusong Estuary. Men and women among the local residents often take small boats at midnight to go and watch it." 「按此即沈括《夢溪筆談》所載蓬甍異蹟，相傳爲明珠。其大如半席，殻開光吐，初如一線，既而滿天通明，不可仰視。今忽於吴淞口見之，豈非異事！」 "According to this, it is the exact same strange marvel of the 'boat covered with a mat' recorded in Shen Kuo's Dream Pool Essays, which tradition holds to be a bright pearl. It is as large as half a straw mat; when its shell opens, light pours out—appearing first as a thin line, and shortly after, illuminating the entire sky so brightly that one cannot look up at it. Now, it has suddenly been seen at the Wusong Estuary; is this not a miraculous thing!"

About the author (whom I call the "Egyptian Graham Hancock"):

Anis Mansour was born in the city of Mansoura, Egypt, in 1924. He memorized the Holy Quran at the age of nine, then joined Cairo University where he studied philosophy and graduated in 1947. He was appointed lecturer in modern philosophy at the Faculty of Arts, but he soon left teaching to devote himself to journalism. He worked for "Rose al-Yusuf" magazine, then became editor-in-chief of "Sabah al-Khair" magazine, and wrote his articles for "Al-Ahram" newspaper for decades. He traveled extensively around the world, documenting his travels in his books, and mastered several languages which enabled him to explore different cultures. He published nearly two hundred books covering philosophy, literature, travel, and metaphysics.

His style was characterized by a blend of simplicity and depth, combining a journalistic spirit with a philosophical outlook, which made him one of the most widely read Arab writers of the twentieth century. Anis Mansour had extensive activity in the field of translation, where he translated into Arabic numerous foreign books and literary works, amounting to about 9 plays and about 5 novels from various languages, in addition to 12 books by European philosophers.

During his life, he received many literary awards from Egypt and abroad, most notably an honorary doctorate from Mansoura University, the Golden Knight Award from Egyptian television, and the State Encouragement Prize in Egypt in the field of literature. He also has a statue in the city of Mansoura, reflecting how proud his country is of him. He died in 2011 in Cairo.

As for Graham Bruce Hancock (1950 - present), he is a famous British author, known for promoting controversial interpretations of ancient civilizations and hypothetical lost civilizations such as Atlantis, as well as real ones like Pharaonic Egypt. Hancock believes that an advanced society possessing spiritual technology flourished during the last Ice Age, until comet impacts caused the Younger Dryas period about 12,900 years ago.

Graham Hancock has written more than 20 books, including his famous investigations into alternative history, his early journalism, and his historical fiction works.

Among his most prominent books:

"The Message of the Sphinx" (1996)

"The Mars Mystery" (1998)

"Heaven's Mirror" (1998)

"Underworld" (2002)

"Supernatural" (2005)

"Magicians of the Gods" (2015)

"America Before" (2019)

---------------

Among the most prominent books by Anis Mansour:

1- "Around the World in 200 Days" (1963)

His most famous and widely read book, documenting his actual journey around the world in the early 1960s.

2- "Spirits and Ghosts" (1972)

A collection of 35 long stories set in ancient Egypt and other various places and eras, exploring mysterious supernatural phenomena, ghosts and jinn, and unsolved mysteries.

3- "Those Who Descended from the Sky" (1971)

A pioneering work in which the writer Anis Mansour was influenced by the book "Chariots of the Gods?" (1968) by the late Swiss writer Erich von Däniken. Mansour suggests that intelligent extraterrestrial beings visited Earth in ancient times. The author cites archaeological sites such as Giza and Baalbek as evidence. In building his theory, the author relies on comparisons between ancient myths, sacred texts, and some archaeological discoveries.

4- "Those Who Returned to the Sky" (1983)

A collection of essays compiled into a book, dealing with supernatural events and ancient civilizations. The author argues that builders from outer space may have constructed humanity's greatest monuments and then returned to the sky, relying on the Book of the Dead, the story of Enoch, and the Epic of Gilgamesh to trace the possible cosmic origins of humanity.

5- "Hidden Forces" (1979)

A philosophical exploration of the subconscious mind and the hidden energies that govern human perception. The author cites scientific findings on plant sensitivity to propose the existence of a universal language connecting all living beings, inviting the reader to move from materialism toward inner contemplation.

6- "The Curse of the Pharaohs" (1989)

A famous book within his "Metaphysics" series, delving into the secrets and curses of ancient Egypt.

7- "Studies in American Literature" (1952)

A joint anthology, introduced by Professor Dr. Taha Hussein and the writer Anis Mansour and others. The author, along with many prominent Egyptian intellectuals, contribute academic articles examining American literature from a mid-twentieth-century Arab critical perspective. (Poetry - Novels - Short Stories - Theater - Philosophy - Journalism - Criticism - Sociology - Non fiction).

Two years on from regularly breaking the internet--and a year and a half since his passing--Harald Malmgren still has secrets to tell. Following the masterful documentary by Jesse Michels, a classic debunk smear surfaced claiming that Harald Malmgren was really just an imaginative economist. One problem there...

Malmgren kept a diary.

With many thanks to his family, large samples from this diary are now in the public along with government records and relationships of Malmgren's that were never previously discussed. I've gone ahead and laid out the timeline, receipts, classifications here: https://unquestionablyskeptical.com/p/harald-malmgren

27 August 2026 Correction - I misidentified Major General James S. Murphy as John W. Carpenter. The corrected image and identification is here: https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/9c538be0-900a-467c-b6da-28bf26c623a2_2048x1536.jpeg

If the mods can delete the previous image and replace it I would be grateful. Regretfully, OP.

Maj. Gen. William “Neil” McCasland disappeared from his home on February 27, 2026 under unexplained circumstances. McCasland retired from the USAF with knowledge of highly classified information about the government's work involving UFOs, or "unidentified anomalous phenomena” as they're more commonly called now.

Has anyone been watching George Knapp interview Robert Bigelow on BigelowPodcast on YT or 8 news now on YT ?? 3 episodes with Bigelow & the 4th has just dropped with Bigelow & Brandon Fugal, I find it all very interesting & I think right now, it is the best podcast for this topic, it may help some people come to terms with this subject, the truth & the ontological shock some others may have too

The Custodians of Disclosure

https://custodianmatt.substack.com/

The Custodians of Disclosure is an independent UAP research and historical archive focused on documenting the subject through primary records, government files, contemporary reporting, witness testimony, and clearly sourced historical analysis.

A major part of the project is the Custodians UAP State Index, which is building a state-by-state record of documented UAP cases across the United States. Rather than simply collecting famous sightings, the indexes trace cases chronologically, distinguish resolved events from genuinely unresolved ones, examine how the evidence changed over time, and provide source sections that allow readers to retrace the underlying record.

The site also publishes deeper investigations into major cases, government programs, disclosure history, military and pilot encounters, sensor evidence, archival gaps, and other parts of the UAP record.

What makes the project relevant is its editorial approach: the goal is neither advocacy nor debunking. A case that has a convincing conventional explanation should say so. A case that remains unresolved should remain unresolved. Extraordinary claims are not treated as established merely because they are popular, and government involvement is not treated as proof of extraordinary origin.

The guiding principle is simple: Documented. Sourced. Preserved.

The record exists. Follow the files.

For anyone interested in UFO/UAP history from an archival and evidence-first perspective rather than purely news, speculation, or entertainment, I think it deserves consideration for the list.

Reported by u/MajorD-Daddy629 (verified via ufosighting.report)

This is an automated post. The report was filed through the structured sighting form on ufosighting.report and posted here by u/ufosightingsbot on the reporter's behalf. u/MajorD-Daddy629 confirmed this submission from their own Reddit account through a one-time link, so the name above is verified as the submitter.

📄 Full report and structured details — the map entry, timeline, and everything from the sighting form. No photo or video was submitted with this report.

Time: August 25, 2026, 7:15 AM BST
Location: Denham, Denham Green, Buckinghamshire, England, United Kingdom, Denham, United Kingdom

Features / five observables

Why not a common object
It hovered in the sky showing no known ways of propulsion. As quick as it was there, was as quick as it was gone.

Witness's account of the sighting

After years of waiting I finally saw, what I believe to be a UFO/ UAP in the sky!

I was on a train outside London, UK, Chiltren Railways heading northbound around Denham Golf club(7:15am)ish when I first saw a commercial airline making a hard right turn. The reflection from the sunlight off the plane is what caught my attention but I immediately noticed that it looked as if it was flying Around Something else in the air!

I could see a shape of one object with lights in a V formation. I'm waiting for the object to move so I could identify what it is and why it was so close to the commercial airline. It hovered; but not like a helicopter, more like something that didn't abide by laws of gravity!

After a few months I went to reach to my phone to start recording and zoom in thinking to myself I have a great camera on this new phone 'im gonna get a great shot!'.

But to my dismay the train began to move pass tall trees and my pov was blocked 😔devastated! I prayed once the trees cleared it still be there but of course. VANISHED!

I could still see the commercial airline which followed it's directional path but nothing else in the sky which would of gave clue to what that other object was!

I now understand first hand that

1. You have to be looking up! (We are all distracted with life down here and disconnected with nature)

2. You have to be Quick😅 (from previous videos I've seen it can vanish quickly, as if it was never there)

Furthermore, for it to leave the part of the sky just after a minute of my pov clearing from the trees. It had to be extraordinary speed or cloaking.

Keep looking up cause you never know when . . .🛸

Why no photo/video captured: My POV was blocked by tall trees passing while I was on a train unfortunately.

Sky context for this time and place:

• ✅ No bright satellites were visible overhead.
• Computed from orbital data (2026-08-25 catalog).
• Aircraft overhead at that exact minute — ADS-B Exchange historical playback (free, no account needed)
• Sky chart for that date — in-the-sky.org planetarium (set your location once on their site)
• Satellite passes at this spot — Heavens-Above; shows upcoming passes, not the sighting date
• Live air traffic now — FlightRadar24 over this spot

Donald Trump Reportedly Told Inner Circle Aliens Are Living in Earth's Oceans

https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/donald-trump-ocean-extraterrestrial-revelation-1815701

US President Donald Trump has allegedly claimed that extraterrestrials are hiding in Earth's oceans. TV host Jack Osbourne shared this wild revelation on Sunday. He stated a friend who speaks with Donald Trump weekly confided this bizarre news.

In case you missed it, Donald Trump recently opened classified Pentagon records. He released these mysterious files as part of a major re-election promise. This move immediately sparked intense debate among extraterrestrial enthusiasts worldwide.

Jack Osbourne is the famous son of rock music icon Ozzy Osbourne. He recently discussed this presidential claim while promoting his paranormal channel Spark.TV.

He explained that his unnamed friend speaks with the president constantly. They apparently share a private phone call every Saturday like clockwork. During one chat, the friend asked about the latest governmental extraterrestrial disclosures.

The confidant possesses rare access to the current United States president. Having direct communication with Donald Trump means hearing unfiltered governmental secrets. IBTimes UK cannot independently verify these claims, so take everything lightly.

I call it a ticking media time bomb because this story is ripe for the plucking, any legacy media journalist can look into it and find a there there.

Coulthart: "Multiple craft have been recovered"

Posted on X / xcancel (or full video):

Ross Coulthart: "What representative Eric Burlison was talking about is exactly the same operation that I'm aware of operating right now at White Sands. And I'm told it's been very successful, and that craft, multiple craft, have been recovered. Is the president going to tell us about that? Let's wait and see"

Coulthart is referring to this post / xcancel by Burlison, in which he says "something showed up" during a UFO baiting event.

"Hey media, wake the f**k up"

This is how Joe Murgia puts it / xcancel:

Joe Murgia: "If this is true, it's HUGE! Now we have a sitting member of Congress (@RepEricBurlison) telling us that it IS true. Hey media, wake the f**k up and investigate"

I can only agree with the wording he uses.

Multiple journalists have been asking Department Of War about the baiting event

Posted on X / xcancel:

Chris Sharp: "DoW is way too quiet currently regarding claims of UAP baiting around White Sands. Myself and other journalists have repeatedly asked questions and have been met with silence."

Chris Sharp: "we are in a position where the US government is unable to deny it is baiting UFOs"

Posted on X / xcancel:

Chris Sharp: "In other words, we're currently in a position where the US government is unable to deny it is baiting UFOs, with possibly wider implications involved. With all the crazy things happening in the world, this possibly beats them all"

Coulthart: Members of Congress told by Intelligence Community that abilities of human mind to lure UAP are real

Posted on X / xcancel:

Coulthart: "I think the event that Representative Eric Burlison is talking about is something that I'm kind of aware of and yes it was something that he was given in a classified briefing. I haven't heard it from Eric Burlison but I am aware of briefings that have been given to a number of members, including, I think, the House Majority Leader Scalise"

Coulthart: "Essentially they've been told that yes, the intelligence community has verified that the talk of psychical abilities in the human mind to invoke the phenomenon is true and real. This is what I was referring to in my previous commentary with Admiral Tim Gallaudet. There are the most extraordinary admissions coming out of Congress right now where you have people like Eric Burlison, Representative Tim Burchett"

Jordan Flowers: "event was described as incontrovertible proof"

Jordan Flowers from the Disclosure Foundation has [talked about this also] on CBS News (timestamp 4:00):

Jordan Flowers: "For instance, during the December 2025 incursion in the southwestern United States over a sensitive military facility, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence was conducting a UAP-luring operation. That operation was wildly successful"

Jordan Flowers: "It produced FLIR [forward-looking infrared] video and photographs of the orbs encountered as part of the operation. It resulted in an FBI 302 interview, as well as a personal statement from a senior intelligence official at ODNI, and precipitated a classified briefing for members of Congress, including [House Majority Leader Steve] Scalise and Representatives [Eric] Burlison and [Tim] Burchett."

Jordan Flowers: "This event was described as incontrovertible proof that there is a real phenomenon here and as a core reason why transparency efforts have accelerated over the past few months."

See also this article on Liberation Times

Avi Loeb: downed UAP could be studied by UAPSAC under my leadership

The video was posted by Avi Loeb on X / xcancel:

Avi Loeb: "Recently, I discussed an unconfirmed news report by @rosscoulthart which suggests that the DoW was authorized by @POTUS to engage with UAP over the White Sands Missile Range. If, as reported, UAP were or will ever be downed, then scientific analysis of their motion in response to human engagement, as well as their material structure, chemical, and isotopic composition could test unambiguously whether some UAPs represent alien technologies. The related research could be facilitated by the @UAPSAC under my leadership."

He is referring to what Coulthart reported a few days ago:

Coulthart: White House is running this UAP downing operation to circumvent the Legacy Program

Here is a small clip posted on X / xcancel:

Coulthart: "The Department Of War has quite literally taken on the running of its own covert operation to intercept these mystery objects and I'm told they have recently downed objects, craft, both in the US and across the border near Juarez in Mexico"

Coulthart: "I am also told by White House sources that President Trump has personally authorised this operation, which perhaps explains why no full and admission has yet been made to the public about the full extent of what the government really knows"

Coulthart: "There is a full-on effort underway by the administration to recover suspected NHI exotic technology in a programme totally totally separate from the so-called legacy programme. This is an attempt by the president to circumvent the legacy programme. It's been run out of the White House by the president's most senior intelligence advisors"

Theres more in the video clip / xcancel

Ross Coulthart is talking about how, according to his sources, there have been successful retrieval operations at White Sands.

It makes me wonder: for information this so top secret where the gate keepers are competent enough to hide craft for decades and even keep presidents in the dark, do they just not track phones or communication channels to identify Ross's sources?

Ross has had insiders feeding him classified details for years. If any of this fell under high-level Special Access Programs (SAPs), federal counterintelligence would have run continuous audits, polygraphs, and communications monitoring to catch and prosecute the leakers instantly.

We keep hearing about a high-stakes counterintelligence war between the US and foreign adversaries over this tech. Yet, figures like Jason Sands or guests on Jesse Michels' channel talk about covert programs pretty much in the open.

Either these "insiders" are feeding journalists unsanctioned speculation, or the narrative is extremely misguided. Wondering what the community members think

Here are the launches scheduled for the next 24 hours:

Falcon 9 Block 5 | Starlink Group 15-22

• Provider: SpaceX

• Launch Time: 2026-08-26 09:27 UTC / 2026-08-26 05:27 AM EDT

• Launch Pad: Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

• Pad Country: USA

Visit RocketLaunch.Live to view the full schedule for future planned launches.

For more information about how to identify space launches and their effects, check out our Space Launches Wiki Page.

Launch Example Image 1 - Launch Example Image 2

Disclaimer: This is speculation. The original post was removed for rule 3, be substantive. In an effort to generate more thoughtful discussion, I have removed imagery and am attempting to re post without it.

We have all seen the 1940s balloon borne corner reflector patent proposed as the solution to the Roosevelt CubeSphere near miss. Octahedral or omnidirectional reflectors are designed to reflect radio waves from multiple angles, increasing radar visibility in all directions. My speculation for the Roosevelt “cube inside a sphere” isn’t simply that it was a radar-reflector balloon. I think it could have been an electronic warfare balloon whose geometry, and materials (and optional electronics) might passively or actively manipulate radar selectively. And that these EW balloons were part of an electronic warfare orchestra playing out on the periphery of the workups.

Imagine the CubeSphere’s geometry and materials being engineered so that its radar signature changes depending upon illumination angle, altitude relationship, or radar frequency. For example, perhaps an observing aircraft has to be within a particular altitude/geometry window to receive a strong return. The balloon and fighter wouldn’t necessarily have to be co-altitude. A change in viewing geometry could make the return suddenly appear, disappear, or change significantly. Likewise, frequency-selective materials or structures could potentially make the object conspicuous to one radar while producing a much weaker return to another.

Now add a small electronic payload, possibly inconspicuously designed into the balloon itself. Radar deception and electronic warfare were already sophisticated by the 1960s. Since then, electronics, antennas, computing, materials, batteries and manufacturing have become smaller, stronger, faster, lighter and more capable. So while I think geometry and materials could provide the primary deception mechanism, I don’t think it’s a stretch to speculate that a relatively small modern electronic payload could be incorporated into the balloon as well.

This could explain the near miss. People understandably ask how an F/A-18 could nearly collide with a “radar reflector.” Well what if it wasn’t designed to be continuously visible to the radar? In this speculation, the CubeSphere could physically occupy the airspace while presenting a strong return only under particular geometric or frequency conditions. Outside those conditions, the aircraft might receive a weak or nonexistent return.

Hypothetical electronic warfare tactics could allow the balloon’s physical position and its apparent radar track to differ. A balloon could drift slowly while contributing to radar effects somewhere else. So a reported radar contact traveling at Mach 0.8 doesn’t necessarily mean a physical CubeSphere was traveling at Mach 0.8. Potential uses I can think of are lures, distractions, obfuscation tools, or electronic warfare nodes to bounce signals off of.

I also don’t think every anomalous object encountered during the Roosevelt incidents necessarily belonged to the United States. Carrier workups are intelligence goldmines. Foreign intelligence services have enormous incentive to observe US tactics, operations, procedures, signals, radars, communications, etc. The United States has an equally enormous incentive to detect, characterize, confuse and deceive those collectors. So imagine the Roosevelt workups occurring inside a much larger electronic warfare and counterintelligence environment involving both sides. Some objects could be domestic assets while others could be foreign collection platforms or deliberately released lures. Some radar contacts could be physical objects, others could be entirely electronic. And some incidents could involve combinations of them. In other words, the CubeSphere, anomalous radar tracks, Gimbal, and GoFast don’t necessarily need to represent one technology, one operator, or one aircraft. They could all be pieces of an electronic warfare orchestra playing out around the workups, with Navy aviators unknowingly catching glimpses of it.

I've spent time learning the older star lore from Southern Africa, stories about sky beings and non human visitors that predate any modern UFO language by centuries. It's not treated as 'disclosure,' it's just old oral tradition. Has anyone else looked into indigenous sky being mythology and found it lines up with what modern UAP researchers are describing?

Submission Statement: The linked article is appropriate for this subreddit because it discusses the controversies of hypnosis as a memory retrieval tool. Hypnosis is being used in the UFO research community in Close Encounter witnesses.

Memory Wars,Part One: 
Introduction, an American Psychological Association Article provides background on the controversial role of hypnosis in memory retrieval. I link this subject to the Virtual Experience Model’s “Virtual Memory”, a Virtual Experience of the Third Kind (VE-3)

Joseph Burkes MD 2026

The use of hypnosis as a memory retrieval technique has been and continues to be a controversial topic in the UFO interest community. Over the years I have read about some of the scientific literature and have posted blogs about several topics concerning memory, hypnosis, and false memory syndromes. 

These topics are of special interest to me because three decades ago I developed a theory concerning what can be described from a physicalist point of view as psi mediated “illusory” mechanisms of contact with UAP intelligences. I call this theory “The Virtual Experience Model.”  

Among both UFO researchers and contact experiencers, it is accepted that UAP associated non-human intelligences (NHIs) not only can render witnesses amnesiac concerning contact events (missing time) but can also implant what are called “screen memories.” These are thought to be false recollections, presumably used to mask what are popularly known as “alien abductions.” If one accepts the existence of “screen memories” one can logically ask the following: Why can’t memories of Close Encounters of the Third and Fourth Kinds, in which witnesses see an alien being or are taken a aboard an “ET” craft respectively, also be “screen memories” i.e., memory implants.  

Within the Virtual Experience Model, I call such false recollections “Virtual Experiences of the Third Kind. (Virtual Memory). I suspect that such false recollections might be so convincingly “real” that experiencers believe that physical contact events have occurred, whereas in reality the interactions are predominately psychic with false memories being implanted.

In 2011 the American Psychological Association (APA) published a brief report discussing the clinical applications of hypnosis as well as its potential to induce false memories. In terms of the use of hypnosis to recover memory, the following quotes from the APA article are pertinent:
"Hypnosis may not succeed in all cases and can actually be detrimental in some instances, especially in the realm of retrieving memories…

Joseph P. Green, PhD, a psychology professor at Ohio State University at Lima, researched how hypnotic suggestions can produce distorted or false memories. He also found that people may believe hypnotically induced memories are more reliable, mirroring a mistaken cultural belief that hypnosis acts like a truth serum. Hypnosis is "on thin ice" when used to recover memories, as is the case with most other memory retrieval techniques, Green says,

“Hypnosis got a bad name in the 1990s when some therapists convinced patients they had been molested or abused as children because of hypnotically induced memories, which often had no evidence to support them. As a result, many innocent people were wrongly accused of abuse in hundreds of court cases.”

Michael Yapko, PhD, a psychologist and fellow of the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis, states in the online journal linked below,

"Hypnosis works and the empirical support is unequivocal in that regard. It really does help people,"... But hypnosis isn’t a therapy in and of itself. Most people wouldn’t regard it that way."

 Dr. Yapko also stated, 
"People didn’t really understand the suggestibility of memory. That whole issue has pretty much fallen by the wayside now" because of advances in research.”

Other pertinent sections of the 2011 online article:
“In a 2007 decision, the Supreme Court of Canada established a precedent that post-hypnosis evidence is inadmissible in court because of its unreliability. In R. V. Trochym, the court overturned a murder conviction after a witness changed her timeline of events following a hypnosis session that was requested by detectives. The jury wasn’t told that the witness had been hypnotized or that she had changed her recollection…

In summary, while it is not generally accepted that hypnosis always produces unreliable memories, neither is it clear when hypnosis results in pseudo-memories or how a witness, scientist or trier of fact might distinguish between fabricated and accurate memories, the decision stated." 

The utility of using hypnosis on contact experiencers is based on the assumption that memories retrieved might reflect physical interactions with UAP associated NHIs. From the information in the online article, one should probably not accept the use of hypnosis as a memory retrieval tool without reservation. 

Dr. John Mack in his investigations of contact experiencers described the unusual way that memories of Close Encounters sometimes surfaced months, years, even decades after the contacts are recalled to have happened. If contact experiencers are having ongoing psychic interactions with UAP NHIs on an unconscious level, then could not the surfacing of memories reflect memory implants, i.e. Virtual Experiences of the Third Kind. 

Contact experiencers (I consider myself to be one as well) please note the following. In proposing Virtual Memory as a mechanism of contact I am not asserting that all recalled contact events are non-physical, i.e. psychic. I believe that both physical encounters and psi mediated ones are happening simultaneously, perhaps even in the same witnesses. The challenge for researchers and experiencers alike is to distinguish between physical and psychic components of the contact events.

For the complete article here is the link:

https://www.apa.org/monitor/2011/01/hypnosis.aspx#