A controversial and accused cover-up article published by The Wall Street Journal in June of this year sparked intense debate within the UFO community.
Titled “The Pentagon Disinformation That Fueled America’s UFO Mythology,” the report mentioned a supposed secret program called “Yankee Blue,” described as an inside joke or prank ritual within military and intelligence circles that allegedly led to false beliefs in aliens.
According to the newspaper, then-Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines was informed about this alleged operation by the Deputy Director of the All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO).
Following the publication, a FOIA request was filed to obtain the briefing referenced in the article. Now, the website The Black Vault has received a response from the U.S. Department of Defense stating that no records matching what The Wall Street Journal described could be found, raising further doubts about the credibility of the article’s authors.
On the other hand, it remains possible that if such a briefing exists, it may be classified under a different designation.
At the time of the WSJ publication, the Deputy Director of AARO was Timothy Phillips, working alongside then-Director Sean M. Kirkpatrick, until a leadership restructure occurred later that year.
The FOIA response has intensified speculation: is “Yankee Blue” a real secret program dismissed as a prank, a case of disinformation amplified at the highest levels, or merely another attempt by some journalists and media outlets to ridicule the subject?
What is Project Yankee Blue?
Project Yankee Blue is said to be a secret program within the highest levels of the U.S. military and intelligence. Its main objective would be to foster public belief in UFOs and aliens—but in a controlled, strategic, and possibly manipulative way. Basically, it would be a disinformation operation or an “inside joke” ritual designed to create a mythology around UFOs, mixing real facts, fabrications, and invented stories to confuse the public and control narratives. The idea would be to use this belief as a tool for distraction, manipulation of public opinion, or to justify certain covert national security actions. There would also be the purpose of testing social and political reactions, while keeping certain secrets well protected.
The mention of “Project Yankee Blue” gained strength in June 2025 with an article in The Wall Street Journal, which talked about the existence of such an operation inside military and intelligence circles involving a “prank ritual.” Sources discussing the subject claim the project would be a kind of internal game among officials to spread contradictory and confusing information about UFOs, creating a convenient “mythology.” Some believe this helped create the current public atmosphere where almost everyone believes in aliens, but without clarifying the real facts.
If true, this project would indicate that the official narrative about UFOs/UAPs could be manipulated from the top down for political or strategic purposes. It also explains why official information is often contradictory or incomplete.
No Reference to Such a Project, FOIA Response Says
Was it just a misunderstanding caused by an error, in which journalists Joel Schectman and Aruna Viswanatha — who wrote the article and were heavily challenged and criticized by the entire UFO community — became victims? Or is it yet another demonstration of dishonesty and a conspiracy by certain media outlets consciously trying to ridicule the UFO phenomenon?
Whatever the truth may be, what was published has proven to be untrue, at least according to the FOIA response obtained today (07/25) by The Black Vault and published by John Greenewald Jr.
Greenewald posted:
“The @WSJ reported that ‘Yankee Blue’ was a hazing ritual that led to false beliefs in aliens, and it was printed that former DNI Avril Haines was briefed on this by AARO’s deputy director.
I requested this briefing. DoD said they can’t find what the WSJ is talking about.”
🚨The @WSJ reported that "Yankee Blue" was a hazing ritual that led to false beliefs in aliens, and it was printed that former DNI Avril Haines was briefed on this by AARO's deputy director.
I requested this briefing. DoD said they can't find what the WSJ is talking about. pic.twitter.com/94G9OOxZZF
— John Greenewald, Jr. (@blackvaultcom) July 25, 2025In the comments on the post, Nick Pope, who ran the British government’s UFO project, questioned Green about how the FOIA request was made, indirectly asking if the request had been made thoroughly:
“I presume you requested the memo mentioned in the first WSJ article, which struck me as the most specific reference:
‘The defense secretary’s office sent a memo out across the service in the spring of 2023 ordering the practice to stop immediately, but the damage was done.'”
Green replied:
“Yes, I absolutely filed for that.”
The controversy surrounding the so-called “Project Yankee Blue” exposes a larger and more troubling problem: the conflicted and often dishonest relationship between mainstream media and the UFO phenomenon. While the press plays a fundamental role in informing society, episodes like this reveal how sensational headlines and rushed reporting can distort facts, fueling narratives that have little to do with the truth.
The lack of concrete evidence and the official negative FOIA response call into question the credibility of outlets like The Wall Street Journal, showing that not everything published deserves trust—especially when the subject involves topics as sensitive and controversial as UFOs.
This media approach, sometimes marked by disdain and ridicule, contributes to the stigma surrounding UFO research, pushing serious audiences and experts away from the conversation while simultaneously opening the door to conspiracy theories on all sides.
Ultimately, the question remains: is part of the media more focused on shaping public opinion than uncovering the truth? And in this game of misinformation, who really benefits?
