I Predicted UFO Disclosure, Here’s What Happened

In 2017, a group of deeply credentialed insiders—retired from the military and intelligence world—quietly formed an organization and helped deliver a blockbuster pair of New York Times stories. Those reports broke the existence of a Pentagon program studying UAPs and spotlighted encounters off the USS Nimitz carrier group near San Diego. The articles came with authenticated gun-camera footage and a rare Pentagon confirmation that, yes, those clips were from U.S. military aircraft. It was a sea change. Suddenly, mainstream institutions were treating the topic seriously.

But the heart of the matter isn’t just a handful of videos. It’s the definition of Disclosure with a capital D: formal confirmation by a head of state that we’re not alone, followed by an orderly process—legislation, declassification, hearings, and public communication—explaining what’s actually known. Leaks and interviews can change culture; only a leader’s explicit acknowledgment can change history.

Why now? As the interview makes clear, 2017 didn’t pop up out of nowhere. It was the culmination of seventy years of relentless citizen research, journalism, filmmaking, and organizing—largely self-funded and stigmatized, yet impossible to ignore. Add to that the internet and social media, which made walling off information all but impossible, and the old policy of secrecy became unsustainable. Insiders knew it. The public sensed it. And the dam finally began to crack.

The Turning Point: 2017’s Quiet Earthquake

For decades, the UFO conversation lived on the fringe—books and late-night radio, tiny budgets and big ideas. Then, in October 2017, an organization staffed by former officials from the DIA, CIA, armed services, and major defense contractors stepped out of the shadows. Soon after, The New York Times ran stories by Ralph Blumenthal and Leslie Kean detailing a Department of Defense program (often referred to as AATIP) quietly funded with $22 million at the urging of Senator Harry Reid. Crucially, the reporting included three Navy videos—now famous—of UAPs performing in ways that defied conventional explanation.

This wasn’t just media buzz. It changed the weather. Newsrooms took the topic seriously. Congress reopened hearings. The Pentagon created new task forces and reporting mechanisms. What had been a cultural curiosity became a policy issue. And that mattered.

Why the Shift Happened When It Did

The interview argues that 2017 was not an isolated spark—it was the end of a very long fuse. Decades of grassroots work piled up evidence, testimony, archival documents, and cultural momentum. The stigma that once kept philanthropists, academics, and mainstream outlets at bay started to crack, especially as the internet leveled the playing field for information. Inside government, people with clearances could read the same books and watch the same documentaries as everyone else. The information was everywhere. The old model—deny, ridicule, and wait it out—stopped working.

There’s also a practical point: secrecy can rot institutions from the inside. It breeds mistrust, silos, conflicting narratives, and operational strain. By 2017, enough insiders believed the policy had to change. They coordinated, stepped out in retirement, and took a calculated risk. It wasn’t universal. But it was enough to tip the balance.

What “Disclosure” Actually Means (Capital D)

Lowercase disclosure—leaks, testimonies, hearings—is not the destination. It’s the runway lights. Capital D Disclosure is a head-of-state announcement acknowledging an extraterrestrial (or at least nonhuman, technologically advanced) presence and initiating a formal public process. That process wouldn’t dump everything at once; it would unfold in phases:

- Legislative guardrails for classified programs and oversight

- Systematic declassification of archives, with protections for legitimate national security

- Whistleblower protections that actually work

- A neutral, well-funded scientific inquiry into origin, technology, and effects

- Public-facing education to reduce panic, stigma, and wild speculation

Put simply: the difference between rumors and reality is the signature on a podium.

Is It All a Reverse Psyop? Why That Theory Falls Apart

The interview takes on a persistent worry: that the recent openness is just another layer of deception designed to rile up believers, then march them back down the hill with nothing to show for it. The counterargument is straightforward. Governments did muddy the waters for decades—ridicule, obfuscation, and a vacuum of credible information created a million competing theories. But the 2017 shift wasn’t built on whispers. It was built on named sources, vetted reporting, authenticated data, and official acknowledgments that, at minimum, something real and unknown has been tracked by our most sophisticated systems.

Could governments still fumble or slow-roll the process? Of course. But the structural forces that enabled the old playbook—information scarcity, stigma, and low coordination among citizens—are gone. The toothpaste isn’t going back in the tube.

The Internet Ended the Old Playbook

If there’s a single technological villain in the story of secrecy, it’s the internet—and we mean “villain” in the best possible way. Before the web, gatekeepers controlled what could be seen, funded, and taken seriously. After the web, forums exploded, blogs propagated, social media amplified, and search engines put everything a click away. The topic became one of the most queried subjects in the early internet era and never fully left the public’s curiosity.

That visibility undermined the effectiveness of ridicule. When tens of thousands of witnesses, pilots, radar operators, and researchers can find one another and share data, the isolating force of stigma breaks down. Institutions that once ignored the subject risked looking uninformed. The pressure built not from a single piece of proof, but from the totality of the evidence, the constancy of the reporting, and the credibility of many of the messengers.

So What Happens After a Head-of-State Confirmation?

This is where imagination meets practicality. A formal acknowledgment would not be the end of mystery; it would be the beginning of governance and integration. Expect a multi-year process that touches nearly every facet of public life:

- Science: A Manhattan Project–level effort to understand propulsion, materials, biology (if any), and the physics at play—paired with guardrails against weaponization races.

- Security: Clear protocols for reporting, intercepts, and international coordination, with an emphasis on reducing accidental escalation and misinterpretation.

- Archives: A rolling release of historical records, with timelines and independent verification to rebuild public trust.

- Education: Public briefings, museum exhibits, and curricula that place the phenomenon in historical and scientific context.

- Ethics: Guidelines for contact scenarios, biological safety, privacy, and the rights of individuals claiming direct experiences.

Far from a Hollywood-style panic, the likely reaction would be intense curiosity, spirited debate, and a reorientation of research priorities. We’ve already done a dry run, culturally speaking. The world lived through the 2017–2024 conversation without shutting down. We adjusted. We’ll adjust again.

How to Prepare—Practically and Personally

- Practice media literacy: Evaluate claims by source, method, and corroboration. Reward transparency over theatrics.

- Support open inquiry: Universities, labs, and nonprofits will need funding and public buy-in to study the phenomenon responsibly.

- Stay civic-minded: Encourage your representatives to support oversight, whistleblower protections, and sensible declassification.

- Build community: Talk with family and friends. Normalize curiosity. Make space for wonder without surrendering critical thinking.

- Manage awe: Big ideas can be destabilizing. It’s okay to feel a mix of excitement and uncertainty. Let it fuel constructive action.

Who’s Moving the Ball Right Now

The conversation highlighted a surge of organizations working—some publicly, some quietly—to prepare for what comes next. Nonprofits, policy shops, scientific groups, and political entities are forming to support research, education, and reform. The stigma that once kept high-ranking people silent has eroded. More are coming forward, and more will.

In parallel, legislators have taken the issue seriously enough to hold hearings and craft language around reporting and oversight. That’s not theater; it’s infrastructure. And it’s one reason the interview’s guest believes a leader could step to the podium any day and say the words that shift history: we’re not alone, and here’s how we’re going to handle it.

The Timing Question: How Close Are We?

The answer, from the interview, is surprisingly direct: close. The platform is built. The stage is set. The holdup isn’t a lack of material; it’s competing priorities and the unpredictability of global events. Pandemics, geopolitical crises, and domestic politics can slow the cadence of even the most momentous announcements. But the groundwork is there, and multiple governments—most notably the U.S. and U.K.—have the evidence and institutional capacity to make the call.

And here’s a provocative point from the conversation: a Prime Minister or President who goes first doesn’t just make news; they write themselves into the spine of history. That incentive won’t be lost on any leader who understands legacy.

The Bottom Line

For seventy years, a stalemate held: citizens asked, institutions avoided, and stigma did the rest. That era is over. The combination of credible insiders, authenticated data, sustained journalism, and a wired public has made the old policy unsustainable. Lowercase disclosure—the one we’ve been living through since 2017—prepared the public mind. Capital D Disclosure will formalize the truth and open the doors to a new chapter of science, policy, and culture.

So be ready. Stay curious. Support transparency and responsible research. Talk to your community. The most profound announcement in human history may not arrive with flying saucers over cities. It might begin with a familiar podium, a calm voice, and a simple sentence: We’re not alone. From there, we’ll do what we’ve always done—ask better questions, build better tools, and expand the circle of what we dare to know.

📕 Guest: Steve Basset

Steve is the Executive Director of the Paradigm Research Group (PRG), dedicated to ending government-imposed secrecy about UFOs and extraterrestrial phenomena. He is a leading disclosure activist, media commentator, and conference speaker on the politics of UFOs.

🌍 Website: https://paradigmresearchgroup.org/

🐦 X / Twitter: @SteveBassett https://x.com/SteveBassett

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