• Blizzard@lemmy.zip
    ·
    1 year ago

    Not sure which UFO sightings are you referring to, but UFO stands for Unidentified Flying Object. It means that something was flying but they couldn't identify what it was, it doesn't mean aliens.

    • SilentStorms@lemmy.ca
      ·
      1 year ago

      That's a bit pedantic. The term is commonly understood to be aliens, and modern usage is pretty much always aliens. UAP is used instead for the more literal meaning.

      • Duamerthrax@lemmy.ml
        ·
        1 year ago

        It's not really pedantic. If the air force is using the term "UFO", they're referring to the technical definition. Means, flying things without known radar or visual references. The problem is when mass media relays the message, they deliberately muddle the definition because it's good for ratings.

        I don't think there's an actual government conspiracy regarding the ufo hearings, but a simple media conspiracy for ratings. I might be wrong, but that's the simplest explanation for what's going on at the moment.

        • SilentStorms@lemmy.ca
          ·
          1 year ago

          The Air Force will never use the term UFO anymore, because that term has become synonymous with aliens in popular culture. This is why they use UAP. The definition has shifted in the past 50 years.

          Its not so much a mass media problem when there's nutjobs testifying under oath that the government has alien corpses. At that point they're just reporting on it.