Sources & Methodology

What counts as a source here. Official government releases (PURSUE at war.gov/UFO, AARO at aaro.mil), congressional records, and National Archives holdings are the foundation. For news, we use a four-tier system: Tier 1 is government-recognized and record-of-note reporting; Tiers 2–4 are credible outlets whose items are human-reviewed before publishing. Every feed card shows its source and tier.

The map. Records are plotted only where the government itself disclosed a location. Three precision levels: precise (exact coordinates or named site), approximate (region or command area, shown as a cluster), and undisclosed (no location given — counted openly as a stat, never guessed onto the map). Files that describe no incident at all (reference papers, contracts, personnel records) carry no location, are not plotted, and are not counted in the undisclosed stat.

The counter. “Days since last release” is computed from release dates published by the Department of War. It resets when they publish. Not before.

What we never use. Leaks, rumors, anonymous claims, or any figure we can’t tie to a record. Automated systems help us collect and filter; the credibility bar is set by the source, not the volume.

This page will grow as the site does. The rules won’t.