Did Trump just release UFO secrets- or the ultimate distraction? What’s inside the new ‘UFO files’

The Trump administration, on Friday, May 8, 2026, released the first batch of “UFO files". The files purportedly claim to have released 162 never-before-seen videos, photographs and witness testimonies tied to Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP). The declassified materials are publicly available through a dedicated portal hosted by the US Department of War. The move is part of the initiative known as PURSUE (Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters) involving multiple US federal agencies.

What is in the UFO files?

Among the most controversial materials were images and transcripts linked to NASA's Apollo 17, Apollo 11 and Apollo 12 moon missions. In the Apollo 12 transcript, it reads “the pilot of the Lunar Module (LMP-LM), Astronaut Alan L. Bean, described observing particles and flashes of light 'sailing off in space' via the onboard Alignment Optical Telescope (AOT). He characterised these phenomena as ‘escaping the Moon.’” Another such testimony from the Apollo 12 mission reads, “Mission Commander, Charles ‘Pete’ Conrad, described observing floating debris outside the lunar module, which had been illuminated by the module’s onboard tracking light. At 06:00:21:51, Conrad assessed that the tracking light had burnt out because he could no longer see the debris from the module.” Another such testimony from the Apollo 17 mission transcript mentions astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt described "very bright particles" and "jagged, angular fragments" moving past their windows. There are several other reports of UAP sightings over Georgia, Turkmenistan, the UAE, and videos of suggested UAPs moving over the Gulf of Oman. Other documents include visual reconstruction of eyewitness testimony; however, none of the files has been verified, and the Trump administration quite similar to the Epstein files has left bread crumbs for the public to fiddle around. It's like another task of augmented reality or a gameshow where the observers are invited to solve the puzzle.

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What is the response from the Trump administration?

The White House described the documents as “never-before-seen", while Trump directed people's attention towards the files he did not personally claim the existence of aliens, stating that the public should "make up their own minds". US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth claimed that the release is a move to end "decades of public suspicion" and provide "maximum disclosure".

Marjorie Taylor Greene, once a Trump loyalist, is now a vocal critic of Trump, launched a harsh criticism of the move by the administration, calling it a tactic to get people “so excited that you forgot you are paying over $4.50/gallon” and diverting attention from the Epstein files. While Trump's critics and fanatics battle over the credibility of different sets of files, Trump can use this ultimate weapon of mass distraction and, at the same time, target the credibility of some of the tragic crimes of the 21st century. In 1994, Canadian conspiracy theorist and journalist Serge Monast claimed about an “Operation Blue Beam” which asserts that the US will stage an alien attack or supernatural event to manipulate people to establish a "New World Order" under a totalitarian government.

Humanity and popular culture's fascination with aliens has made it relatively smooth to jump from unknown to extraterrestrial beings. Just because a phenomenon can't be explained does not imply it's linked to extraterrestrial beings. Neil Patrick Harris claimed that “theory of the gap” can not substitute science. Scientist and host of the show Cosmos, Carl Sagan, once said, “extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence”. Analysts have urged people to “take it with a grain of salt”. Dr Sean Kirkpatrick, who served as the first director of the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), the Pentagon’s official UFO-hunting unit, warned against the "erosion of critical thinking" regarding UAP claims.