I just wanted to remind everyone that disinformation means to
"confuse not necessarily disprove".
It is a well practiced technique used in intelligence and military circles, to divert attention away from the real situation by means of diluting and confusing information about it.
YouTube and other video sharing sites have taken Ufology into the homes of anyone with a computer and internet connection. With the surging increase in smart phones and video recording devices, anyone in the world now can simply film a UFO, upload and share it. This freedom of information and online video access previously not available in the history of mankind, has lead to a huge interest in taboo topics like UFOs.
Accordingly, government circles are worried about the power of information sharing in this day and age, where a simple video , blog post or comment shared on social media, can spark mass riots, social upheaval and even the downfall of a government or political party. Governments have been cautiously observing this development over the last 10 years and are now implementing ways to manipulate the social media to their own advantage, in order to regain any power lost to the internet.
The US government has actually carried out numerous studies on dangers of social media against National Security, with one study identifying blogging on war as an "integral and decisive factor of war propaganda".
In fact, a new part of National Defense Authorization Act would legalize U.S. government propaganda directed at the American people, with the belief that successful wars require domestic acceptance. (
read more). In addition, a recent a Guardian investigation revealed that the US military has developed software that will let it "secretly manipulate social media sites like Facebook by using fake online persona's to influence internet conversations".
Link. This "if you can't beat them then join them" strategy of the US government is now seen as the current agenda after the failing of the SOPA and PIPA internet regulation schemes. If they can't block the websites, then why not infiltrate them? - is the new idea.
It obvious that the Internet is a serious threat to the traditional power models, and the governments have started to learn about the benefits of manipulating it. This brings us to the situation on YouTube which which we have seen unravel over the past few years. Some popular UFO channels seem to be replicating highly computer generated UFO videos, mimicking genuine sightings, copying the classic Triangular Orb formations and presenting these videos as if they are legitimate. (I won't name name's here, but your welcome to discuss this in the reply).
These videos do gather alot of attention, but that is their purpose - to bring in the hits. Often the comments on these videos are heated, with ongoing debate about the authenticity of the videos. Many people reading the comments on these videos often then come to assumption that UFO videos on YouTube simply can't be trusted and the whole topic once again becomes diluted.
The question is - is this disinformation in action, or simply the work of people who spend too much time with video editing software creating good fakes? Who knows...
Another technique seen, is video spamming. If an important UFO sighting occurs and is uploaded, YouTube will be spammed for the week with irrelevant videos with similar key words spammed in that category making it impossible to find the real video. People eventually give up looking for the UFO video after hearing about something in the news or in the area. Also, Youtube videos with ads now generate serious income for the posters, so you can see the benefit it gives to people who sensationalize or photoshop great fakes - more hits basically mean more add revenue. It's a fine line that all bloggers and Youtube channel owners need to consider everyday -
should they post quality content or content that will simply lead to more hits and money?
This is the reason why we set up RealUfos over seven years ago - basically to sift through these UFO videos and provide you with the best, most genuine and most up to date UFO sightings, so you dont have to waste your time with all the garbage out there. Seeing is believing and often as a rule, if something is too good to believe then often it is the case! Use your judgement - be skeptical but never close your mind.
Keep your eyes (and smart phones) to the skies!
Matt