2017 · New York
The New York Times breaks the story
WhenDecember 16, 2017
WhereNew York
Backing4 independent
Witnesses1 named
Evidenceofficial records, sensor data
'Glowing Auras and Black Money: The Pentagon's Mysterious U.F.O. Program', by Helene Cooper, Ralph Blumenthal and Leslie Kean, revealed AATIP and published the FLIR1 and GIMBAL videos. The article mentioned that Bigelow had modified buildings in Las Vegas to store metal alloys and other materials recovered from UAP. Overnight the subject moved from late-night radio to the front page, and the modern disclosure era began.
Evidence, in date order (4)
- 2004FLIR1 videosensor dataNavy infrared video published with the story FLIR1, published with the Times story
- 2015GIMBAL videosensor dataNavy infrared video published with the story GIMBAL, published with the Times story
- 2017Luis ElizondowitnessExplained the Pentagon program on the record Elizondo explains the Pentagon program (Unidentified)
- Dec 2017PentagonofficialConfirmed the program had existed The New York Times: Glowing Auras and 'Black Money'
How plausible · Very high
The Pentagon confirmed the program, the videos were published, and Elizondo spoke on the record.
- ●●Access Direct observation or instruments.
- ●●Cost of speaking Named on record.
- ●●Character record Trained professionals.
- ●●Independent convergence Independent sources agree.
- ●●Checkable details check out Released official records.
- ●●Fits the documented skeleton Fits the documented record.
Plausibility weighs how well an account fits where secrecy hides the documents by design, so missing records never count against it. Strength measures what is documented. Assessed 2026-10-23.
On the record
- The Times article and the videos.
- The Pentagon confirmed the program had existed.
Claims
Recovered materials stored by a private contractor.secondhandSourced, unconfirmedNew York Times
As soon as the media started paying attention, Congress started paying attention: calls from the Hill.firsthandSourced, unconfirmedChristopher Mellon
Where
New York
40.7°N 74.0°W
In The picture
The pictureDisclosure is being managed. The 2017 New York Times story, the intelligence community’s own report finding 143 of 144 cases unexplained, the hearings from 2022 to 2025, the Disclosure Act being gutted and PURSUE’s seven releases in 2026, the latest carrying DIA’s own 2008 contract files on crashes abroad and a vault…
Managing what we believeThis is a perception program running beside the hardware program. Real cases get buried under planted ones, so any true witness can be dismissed with the false. And a public that has to be told one day gets prepared slowly: the Times story, the Navy videos, the hearings, and now PURSUE. Even that is metered. In 2026 …
Similar cases · sharing people, threads, topics or era
Connected cases
AAWSAP / AATIP 2008Elizondo resigns 2017Robertson Panel 1953Tic Tac (FLIR1) 2004Videos released 2020
People and organizations
Bigelow Aerospace / BAASS orgTo The Stars Academy orgChristopher Mellon personKarl Nell's UAP campaign plan (SOL Symposium, November 2023) documentFaculty perceptions of unidentified aerial phenomena documentAmerican Cosmic: UFOs, Religion, Technology. By D. W. PasulkaIntimate Alien: The Hidden Story of the UFO. By David J. Halperin document
Threads · click one to see it on the board
Sources
- The New York Times: Glowing Auras and 'Black Money'
- FLIR1, published with the Times story
- GIMBAL, published with the Times story
- Elizondo explains the Pentagon program (Unidentified)
- Wikipedia: The Age of Disclosure