Category: Front Page

We need a new logo

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We’re looking to refresh our logo and lose the flying saucers. We need something more abstract, and something that we can vary a bit for the website, the podcast, and other uses. Any artistic volunteers want to submit your idea?

What are your questions?

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In our upcoming video series as well as our ongoing podcast API Case Files, we want to answer your questions. What questions do you have about reporting UFO sightings, how API Investigates sightings, what you can expect from us, or how to become a Field Investigator? Or, anything else related? Let us know in the comments to this post, or shoot us your question via the contact form.

Please keep your questions specific, and let us know if it is ok to use your name when we give the answer.

Change to the Sighting Report Form

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In the last few months, we have worked to improve the sighting report form to make it friendlier and easier to understand. Previously, we had a check box on the form to request anonymity. We have changed that.

We assume you want anonymity, and we will protect your anonymity and privacy. Period.

If you want your real name or other identifying information about you used in our public materials, then you will need to tell us that in writing, but we will not otherwise release this information to the public.

However, as explained in the policy,  it is possible that we will want to share your case file (which may include your contact information) with other ethical investigation groups. This is unlikely in most cases, but it could happen. We want to assure you that it will not happen without your permission. The new checkbox on the report form gives you the option of requiring us to specifically ask you if the transfer is OK with you before we do it (check “No”). if you check “Yes”, then we may (but probably won’t) share your file with other organizations if they are well vetted and have a written ethics agreement with us. We will always inform you when we do this.

Update: the checkbox has been removed. From now on the policy is to ask ALL witnesses for permission before sharing their case file with anyone.

Questions? Comments? Let us hear from you.

New for 2018 – Full Reports of Investigation (ROI)

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Starting with this calendar year, we will publish our Reports of Investigation on this site, redacted of any possible witness Personally Identifying Information (PII). The data in these reports are not the story – often there is much more in the way of photos, videos, and detailed analysis.  Interested parties can contact us for full resolution photos and other details.

Witness PII will NOT be released without witness permission, and only to those persons of verified identity with whom we have an agreement on investigatory ethics.  Contact us if you need to discuss this.

We’re Reaching Out

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Case 15-029 – not a hoax, but what is it?

We at API recognize that we’re unlikely to accomplish much by ourselves.  API is, after all, not an end in itself. As soon as an organization starts to exist for its own sake, it’s simply  a matter of time before its original vision is lost or even perverted. API only makes sense to the extent it makes a contribution to the overall vision.

As we see it, our overall strategy is competently investigating many vetted cases, and then looking for telling patterns in the highest probability cases, we are going to have to be part of a bigger network.The larger aim is to begin to ask better questions that ca be scientifically addressed. Grand theories can wait – we don’t even have good hypotheses yet.

To make this work, we need to establish links with other groups that perform quality, ethical  investigations and share data in a way that does not violate a witnesses’ need for anonymity.

In addition to the slow, careful process of adding new field investigators, there are other sorts of alliance that can work. We can share cases when all other requirements are met, or anonymized case data otherwise.  Just as importantly, we can share knowledge and skills.  Skills in areas like video forensics, tracking down long lost corroborators, or analyzing ATC audio tapes could be shared among small organizations worldwide.

One of the hoax photos from Argentina

In one case a few years ago, it was an Argentine UFO research group who found an object that exactly matched what we were seeing in a set of photographs, and this helped us conclude that the photos were probably hoaxed.

Eliminating hoaxes and misidentifications is an important part of this work – removing the “ordinary noise.” There is also “sophisticated noise,” as Hynek once pointed out, that may be part of the signal. Since we don’t know what the signal is, we need to help each other. I’m sure I don’t have a complete list of all the ways this can work.

What do you think?