Introduction
A small, moving light that pulses across the night sky; what is it? What comes to mind? Planes? Meteors? Or something more?
According to the 2021 Gallup poll, a little under half (41%) of the American population believe that Earth has been visited by alien spacecraft; an increase from their previous polls from 1973 to 2019.
Conspiracy theories are an ongoing phenomenon that have continuously affected American pop culture, journalism, and politics. Amongst them, the belief in UFO or UAP sightings as extraterrestrial contact is extremely popular. But who cares? Why am I so concerned that people believe that little green men come down to earth in flying saucers? The widespread belief in alien contact despite lack of evidence is an indication of distrust in government and scientific community; a disconnect between them and common person.
In this series of webpages, I will explain how the practice of conspiracy theory functions and the purpose it serves within society; demonstrated through the analysis and debunking of UFO sightings.
However, I figure you want to know who’s talking to you before I get into the thick of it; My name is Evelyn. My major is not in journalism or any study of aerial phenomena despite their discussion in this group of articles. However, I have taken college-level courses in sociology, psychology, and philosophical logic; along with a course with a specific focus on critical thinking in the context of misinformation and conspiracy theory. I am a hobbyist in planespotting and amateur astrology and have also had a long-term interest in cryptozoology and the study of folklore.
I am not an expert here to try and bury everyone under jargon and or a sense of superiority. It’s not abnormal for conversations about UFOs to devolve into arguments about intelligence; two sides calling each other “stupid”. I don’t want that. I can’t call believers in UFOs less intelligent than me, because it would be hypocritical. I’ve believed in them before.
It was late, around 10 PM; I was being driven home from work, down a dark, dirt backroad. I sat in the passenger seat, looking up into the inky sky, taking in the stars. I was talking to the driver, when I was cut off by something that made my heart stop: a series of dotted lights floating above the car, too big and bright to be stars and flying too low to be a plane. More than anything, I remember how my stomach dropped and how panic seeped into me. My heart seemed to restart, twofold, as I scrambled to take out my phone and photograph the will-o-the-whisp trail. The driver must’ve noticed my distress at that and looked up from the road to see what the matter was; she proceeded to simply say “Oh! It’s Starlink!”. What I had seen were the hazard lights on a group of SpaceX satellites rising into space together; not alien, but human.