Recap

Gov't Disinformation Programs

Fringe-culture historian and publisher of The Excluded Middle, Greg Bishop, shared the story of a government authorized campaign of disinformation that defined an era of alien paranoia and destroyed the life of the late Paul Bennewitz.

According to Bishop's account, Bennewitz detected strange lights and radio signals coming from Kirtland Air Force Base outside of Albuquerque, New Mexico. An electrical physicist and pilot, Bennewitz believed he had stumbled upon alien communications, possibly the beginning signs of an extraterrestrial invasion. Alarmed by his findings, Bennewitz contacted the military and other government agencies, Bishop said.

Enter counter-intelligence officer Richard Doty, a surprise guest who joined the discussion with Art and Bishop. Doty contends that Bennewitz was close to uncovering top military secrets, so the government began a disinformation campaign against him to keep him believing the signals and lights were of alien origin. Bennewitz eventually ended up in mental institution for several months, a tragedy for which Doty feels some remorse.

Doty also claims to have personally fed lies and disinformation to frequent Coast guest Linda Moulton Howe, while she was working on a UFO special for HBO. Among Doty's other startling revelations during the program were that Roswell actually happened (he's seen the briefing film), a living alien was recovered, and the government was involved in cattle mutilations.

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Project Blue Book

Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, the United States Air Force investigated thousands of UFO reports, under a program called Project Blue Book. Their conclusion: no evidence exists for extraterrestrial vehicles. Author Robert Goldberg believes the main purpose of Blue Book was public relations and disinformation. In an interview with ABC News, he described their mission to "denounce the UFOs, dismiss the UFOs, debunk the UFOs and anybody who believes in them -- just come up with answers and get this UFO thing out of the newspapers." Read more from ABC News.

Explore the Project Blue Book Archive.