- Denzler, Brenda (2003). The Lure of the edge: scientific passions, religious beliefs, and the pursuit of UFOs. University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-23905-9.
- Jacobs, David Michael; The UFO Controversy In America; Indiana University Press, 1975
Many hoaxes related to the study of unidentified flying objects have been perpetrated.
In 1884, the Nebraska State Journal ran two hoax articles about a crashed UFO in Dundy County, Nebraska.[4]
Beginning in 1993, Ray Santilli was either the victim or perpetrator of a hoax involving film footage that purported to show an autopsy being conducted in 1947 upon an alien related to the Roswell UFO incident.[5] Santilli auctioned off the rights to be first to broadcast the film, which were won by the American Fox Broadcasting Company and presented in the 1995 show Alien Autopsy: Fact or Fiction and later in other programs.[5] The footage had a deep impact throughout the media, and networks all over the world broadcast pictures representing what appears to be a corpse lying on a bed. It was revealed to be a hoax.[6] Project Mogul was presented as the official explanation of the case.
Santilli initially stated he bought the film from Jack Barnett,[7] an American who claimed (though turned out not to be) the commander of the US army. Santilli gave cuttings of the film to experts. However, he didn't give them the photos they took. This is because the photos were in a much clearer quality than the footage, so people could easily see the latex dummies.[8]
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Main article: 1967 British flying saucer hoax |
In September 1967, six 'flying saucers' were placed between the Thames Estuary and the Bristol Channel in southern England.[9] The pranksters were apprentices from the Royal Aircraft Establishment at Farnborough. The hoax was part of the college's Rag Week and intended to raise money for charity.
A small piece of metal with hieroglyphs was discovered in 1957 in Sipho Moor near Scarborough, North Yorkshire. Its diameter was a mere 16 inches. Dubbed the "miniature UFO" and "British Roswell", experts stated it was most likely a hoax.[10]
A photograph taken on Ilkley Moor in West Yorkshire on December 1, 1987, was alleged to be of an alien. The English newspaper the Daily Star claimed to expose it as a hoax in its edition of July 2, 1989: saying that the alien in the picture was in fact an insurance broker, unsuspecting he was being photographed, while he visited his clientele in the outskirts and cut through the hills. Belgian investigators analysing the case stated "mais comment imaginer que des enquêteurs expérimentés aient pu se laisser prendre à un aussi banal canular ou méprise" (But how can we imagine that experienced investigators could have been misled by such a casual hoax?).[11]
