Most Americans think the government is hiding more about UFOs

Americans may be looking at the same UFO videos as federal investigators, but many still assume Washington knows more than it is saying. That suspicion has deepened as recent disclosures have kept unidentified anomalous phenomena, or UAP, in the national conversation while official reviews have repeatedly failed to find evidence of extraterrestrial craft, beings or technology.

NASA entered the issue publicly on June 9, 2022, when it announced an independent study of UAP. Its UAP Independent Study Team issued its final report on September 14, 2023, saying the work required a rigorous, evidence-based approach and did not establish an extraterrestrial origin for the sightings it reviewed. NASA later appointed a director of UAP research and kept a public resource page on the topic updated, signaling that the agency intended to keep studying unexplained reports rather than dismissing them outright.

The Pentagon has been equally cautious about the unknown, but not supportive of alien interpretations. The All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office published its Fiscal Year 2024 Consolidated Annual Report on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena on November 14, 2024, and said it had found no evidence of extraterrestrial beings, activity or technology. On its website today, AARO answers the question directly: “Has the Department found any evidence of extraterrestrial technology? No.” The office also says the Defense Department continues to investigate sightings.

Even so, the gap between official conclusions and public belief remains wide. The AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research polling hub, which uses a nationally representative approach, reflects a long-running tension in American life, curiosity about what might exist beyond Earth and mistrust of what government agencies choose to reveal. Many Americans believe extraterrestrial life exists, and some think it is already here, even as NASA and AARO have said they have found no evidence to support that claim.

That mistrust gives UFO videos and secrecy narratives a durability that outlasts the evidence. It also helps explain why unresolved cases carry so much weight: when agencies acknowledge that some sightings remain unexplained but conclude they are not alien, a skeptical public often hears something else. In Washington, the official record is increasingly clear. In public opinion, the case is still open.