Counterintelligence-shaped-mythology thesis.
hypothesisframeworkMajestic 12 & Disinfo
The thesis (Mark Pilkington's Mirage Men) that US counterintelligence at times seeded and steered UFO folklore as cover for classified tech and to discredit witnesses - not merely covered it up.
The defensible position: a small set of PROVEN manipulations (Bennewitz is the gold standard; the U-2 admission; the Robertson debunk-and-monitor policy) embedded in a much LARGER organic phenomenon (waves in 1897/1947/1952 predate any campaign). The maximalist 'it's ALL a psyop' extension is unfalsifiable hypothesis and mis-reads Pilkington's actual 'SOME of this folklore may have been officially created.'.