The 2017 New York Times AATIP Investigation
- Type: article (investigative journalism)
- Author: Leslie Kean, Ralph Blumenthal, Helene Cooper (New York Times)
- Date: 2017-12-16
- Credibility: primary (investigative journalism from newspaper of record)
- URL: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/16/us/politics/pentagon-program-ufo-harry-reid.html
Summary
The article that reignited the modern UAP conversation. Published simultaneously with companion pieces in The Washington Post and Politico. Revealed the existence of the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP), a $22 million Pentagon program funded from 2007-2012 at the urging of Senator Harry Reid (D-NV).
Key Revelations
- The Pentagon had secretly funded a program to investigate UFO reports, something it had publicly denied doing since Project Blue Book ended in 1969.
- The program was initiated by Reid with support from Senators Ted Stevens (R-AK) and Daniel Inouye (D-HI), making it bipartisan.
- Most of the funding went to Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies (BAASS), run by Robert Bigelow, a friend and political supporter of Reid’s.
- The program generated a 494-page report documenting worldwide UFO sightings.
- Luis Elizondo was described as an AATIP director who resigned in October 2017 to protest “excessive secrecy and internal opposition.”
- The article included two Navy videos (FLIR and GIMBAL) showing infrared footage of unidentified objects.
Context and Criticism
Journalist Keith Kloor criticized the coverage as “a curious narrative that appears to be driven by thinly-sourced and slanted reporting,” noting “cursory attention has been given to the most likely, prosaic explanations.”
The videos were provided to the press by Christopher Mellon, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Intelligence. According to Wired, a copy of one video had been online in a UFO forum since at least 2007.
According to journalist Garrett Graff, this reporting “really kicked off a remarkable change in the conversation around UFOs” as the government started working “to destigmatize the idea of flying saucers or UFOs.”
Significance
This story mattered not because it proved aliens exist but because it proved the US government was still secretly investigating UFOs despite decades of public denial. The credibility of the Times, combined with the bipartisan Senate backing and official Pentagon videos, made it impossible to dismiss as fringe. Whether this represented legitimate national security concern or a successful influence operation by a small group of advocates (Elizondo, Mellon, Bigelow, Reid) is a question that remains open.