The Internet Reacts After the Pentagon Reveals Massive Trove of UFO Files

The Pentagon has revealed a series of images, videos, and other files from what are said to be “unresolved cases” related to UFO sightings over the last 80 years, and the internet seems to be reacting accordingly.

The file drop, which is said to be the first in a series of updates related to UFO sightings, followed a tease from U.S. President Donald Trump last month and is available to view via this website. It included more than 160 files related to findings from the FBI, NASA, and the Department of War, with new materials set to roll out every few weeks “as they are discovered and declassified.”

“We found many very interesting documents, I must say, and the first releases will ​begin very, very soon, so you can go out ​and see if that phenomena is correct,” Trump said in mid-April. “You’ll figure it out. Let me know.”

The files have been organized by the Pentagon on a website that feels almost like scrolling through the documents section of a Resident Evil game. Again, the documents here are related to “unresolved cases,” meaning that, as bizarre as the videos and images here are, they’re far from proof of alien life, in the traditional sense.

In fact, social media users aren’t sure what to make of some of the footage as everyone continues to dig through the files. As skeptics dig into the trove of files, one of the more popular images circulating shows a chrome, pill-shaped object in what is described as an FBI lab-rendered graphic overlay of an object some eyewitnesses reported seeing in September 2023.

“OK come on what the f**k is this man,” one X/Twitter user said.

“Looks like a fish oil pill floating over an [Microsoft Paint] edit of a windows xp background,” one Reddit user reacted.

Another image making the rounds online comes from page 99 from the first FBI. It has no ties to a specific incident date but seems to show a small, human-like figure that was once discovered. The Pentagon noted that the files released today are part of a never-before-seen drop, but as many online have noted, even some of the more striking images like this one have been seen before.

“Man, this photo is as old as the hills,” one Reddit user noted. “It was in a ton of Paranormal and UFO books my Nana had from the 1960s and 70s.”

Another user replied, and said, “Yes I mentioned this before – It’s like they are flicking through the pages of an old ‘Unsolved Mysteries’ type books that a lot of us read as kids and then picking things out at random to try and pass off as ‘Transparency.’ It’s honestly laughable.”

Some of the other highlights users online have started to cling to involve a strange sun-like UFO leaving a trail as it moves through the sky. There are also documents tied to the Apollo 11, Apollo 12, and Apollo 17 missions, including words shared by Buzz Aldrin regarding “little flashes” he spotted during Earth’s first successful trip to the moon.

“The other observation that I made accumulated gradually,” Aldrin said. “I don’t know whether I saw it the first night, but I’m sure I saw it the second night. I was trying to go to sleep with all the lights out. I observed what I thought were little flashes inside the cabin, spaced a couple of minutes apart…”

There is…a lot to go over here, and if the Trump administration continues as planned, it sounds like the conversation surrounding UFOs isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. In the meantime, you can read what Barack Obama had to say about aliens on Earth.

FBI composite image provided by the Department of War.

Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He’s best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).