UFO video hoaxed as proof that faking is easy

This "UFO" image was created with a model. Copyright © 2009, Anthony Wharton.

As American ufologists deal with seemingly heightened numbers of anomalous reports nationwide amid rapid communications advances and flourishing social networking web sites - the hoaxers are out in larger numbers as well.

One delicate piece of the picture is the often polite stand that UFO hunters take - being good listeners - as they try to sort out the difference between Mother Nature, something manmade, and what might be anomalous.

Case in point is the recent posting at YouTube of a video purported to be a video phone capture of the O'Hare Airport sighting from Nov. 7, 2006. What you read in columns like mine about these kinds of events is straight reporting - it's an event - of a video gaining more than a quarter-milion viewer hits. But in the background, behind what you're reading, myself and those ufoloigsts I contact for an opinion, are shaking our heads and saying, "No, not again."

So being kind and being a good listener allows some of the hoaxing to get through.

British citizen Anthony Wharton finally fessed up this morning, announcing in an email to me that his social experiment set out to prove ufologists and the media will let anything through the system.

Image: Anthony Wharton, St Helens, Merseyside, United Kingdom, 2009.

Well, it's also a story worth reporting if more than a quarter million people are watching it. There are lots of fictional network television shows out there that I don't like, but the definition of newsworthy can be bent to report on something that is getting a lot of attention. Last year's report that a Bigfoot body was found is another case in point. While the Bigfoot research community stepped up for a closer look, and major media worldwide reported on it, everyone was frowning in the background. And of course the end of the story was news of a faked body.

News out of Morris County, New Jersey, today is yet another case.

Joe Rudy, 28, and Chris Russo, 29, have been charged with disorderly conduct, after prosecutors there learned of the hoax on YouTube, where they actually showed us how they did it - red flares, helium balloons and fishing line. But UFO researchers stepped in originally and reported on this case, and network television - UFO Hunters - carried a segment on it.

Photo: Image created with model. Copyright © 2009, Anthony Wharton.

I don't want quality shows like UFO Hunters to give up. Reporting on any anomalous event is mainly an after-the-fact event. You typically have only witness testimony - what observers saw at a scene - and sometimes the event is captured as a photo or a video - often with lower quality camera phones. I give UFO Hunters Producer Dave Pavoni and company thumbs up for taking on the case as it was presented.

Ufologists want to get to the bottom of this contstant worldwide barrage of UFO reports. They cannot do that without getting out into the thick of it - field investigation. And brother, field investigations cost money - hats off to shows like UFO Hunters that expend the funds and bring story into our living rooms. Any one individual or group who is investigating UFOs will run into a hoax now and again.

And there is a major problem drawing the line between wanting to have an open mind, listening to what witnesses are saying, reporting known facts, offering an opinion - and making upfront decisions about who is hoaxing and who is legitimate. Should we be doing that? In many cases, the reports are slim on solid, scentifically provable facts that would make a skeptic dance in the street.

Photo: Image created with model. Copyright © 2009, Anthony Wharton.

If we only reported on hard, scientifically proven cases - there would be no news on UFOs. Did I hear the skeptics dancing in the streets? And those thousands of people worldwide who are actually experiencing these anomalous events daily would have no evidence database to turn to.

Allen Hynek would roll over in his grave.

Well - here's the video Wharton wants you to see now - about how he created the O'Hare UFO video. Give it a view.

 
Today by email, Wharton writes,

"I haven't got much time so I will have to be brief, 2 weeks ago several clips anonymously appeared on you tube claiming to be photographic evidence from the Chicago O'Hare Airport UFO Incident. They have caused quiet a UFO media frenzy over the last 2 weeks and one clip received a quarter of a million hits, and even made Fox News in America(shocking). I can now reveal that I faked all of these clips for no other reason than to prove that photographic evidence is not acceptable proof of UFO'S and that some people, including " UFO experts" only see what they want to see. To read more you can read the details at the side of the clip. To see how I created these clips, go to my channel and you will see the clip titled "The Chicago O'Hare UFO Experiment", click this link

www.youtube.com/user/billymeierhoax

"To see the 3 original clips go to

www.youtube.com/user/ohareufowitness

"I have sent you an article with this email, please consider it for publication. I hope that you can see the serious side to my research, unlike many other people who just label me a "skeptic"

Take great care, Best, Tony."

But, as it turns out, Wharton has seen a UFO himself. Here is the text of the attached document from Wharton's email today. Looks like he's made an excellent point with one of the most famous hoaxers of all time.

"Several years ago I had a UFO sighting over St Helens and I have been interested in the UFO subject ever since. A while ago whilst I was researching the history of the subject, books, websites, magazines, etc, I kept coming across one of the biggest UFO cases in history, the Billy Meier UFO/contact case, and all of the controversy that goes with it.

"Billy Meier is the Swiss man who claims contact with extraterrestrial humans, he claims his contacts began in 1942 when he was aged 5 and says his contacts continue to this day. Meier became most famous in the mid to late 1970’s when he exploded onto the UFO scene with his tales of UFO encounters, meetings and rendezvous with beautiful blonde female aliens. His level of fame and notoriety was mainly due to his vast number of ambiguous UFO photographs. Meier has put forward over 1200 daylight 35mm photos and several 8mm movie clips of what he says show real UFO’S.

"For over 25 years Billy Meier has been at the top of a hit list for professional skeptics and debunkers, including the international group CFI, magician/skeptic the “amazing” James Randi and science writer/skeptic Michael Shermer. They have all accused Meier of hoaxing his UFO evidence and they was all recently challenged by Michael Horn (Meier’s authorised American media representative) to back up their claims and try to replicate Meier’s stunning photo evidence. To date they have all failed to put forward even one photograph between them and they continue to attack Meier’s credibility. I looked at the case in great detail and came to the conclusion that the case was too good to be true and that Meier had indeed faked all of his evidence. I contacted Michael Horn in Los Angeles (USA) and explained my findings. Just as the other skeptics before me I was challenged by the Meier camp to back up my claims. Confident I could meet their challenge, I made some tiny UFO looking models and suspended them on the end of a fishing rod and simply photographed them with a 35mm camera, I also filmed them with a video camera. Below are a few examples of my photographic evidence. (All of my photo research was done by using models and materials which were available to Meier in the 1970’s, no electronic manipulation was used what so ever).

"I contacted Michael Horn and the Meier camp and the above mentioned skeptics and presented them with my research. As expected skeptics and debunkers of the case championed my efforts, but Michael Horn and the Meier camp would not admit defeat. Horn continued to make challenges and after many heated debates with Meier and Horn we decided to part company, remain friends and move on. I have to point out that in almost 5 years Michael Horn and Billy Meier have still yet to meet my one and only challenge I set them, which is to provide me with an extraterrestrial sample for independent scientific analysis to back up their claims.

"I recently pointed out to Billy Meier, Michael Horn and the Meier camp that not only had Meier used small models to hoax his evidence, but he had also used the same miniature tree in mostly all of his films and photographs, yet Meier claims that all of his photographic evidence was taken years apart, as I pointed out, that’s just simply impossible. Meier also put forward many more ridiculous photos showing dinosaurs, aliens, laser guns, time travel, but the less said about them, the better.

"One of Billy Meier’s alien girlfriend’s was actually nothing more than a photograph of a dancer from the Dean Martin T.V show, created by Meier by simply photographing his television screen.

"A Meier photo of another one of his alleged aliens, rumoured to be his ex-wife

"Michael Horn has recently published my work on his website, along with a statement which points out “We commend Tony for taking his time to make and display his best efforts. This is, in itself, a far more respectable approach than those of James Randi, CFI-West and, of course, Derek Bartholomaus of IIG, all of whom made great pronouncements that Meier hoaxed his UFO evidence…and all of whom failed to be able to substantiate one word of their claims”.

"To see my research goto www.flickr.com/photos/thesecretsofthesaucers and also see www.flickr.com/photos/theweddingcakeufo I have also created 20 short movie clips which include an indepth 10 minute discussion which highlights why the case is a hoax, these can be found at www.youtube.com/user/billymeierhoax

"Anyone intrested in doing their own research into the Meier case can goto Michael Horns website www.theyfly.com

"Over the years, Billy Meier’s popularity has declined, mainly due to his claims becoming more and more outlandish and far-fetched, and many people now simply regard Meier as a crackpot and a hoaxer. Over the course of his life, Meier has spent long periods of time in and out of psychiatric institutions, and it is rumoured that Meier now lives his life as a penniless hermit on his farm in Switzerland, a life far removed from the one he once enjoyed as quiet a rich and famous man. At the height of his fame, Meier was a cult leader, a cult which was run from his farm in Switzerland (The Church Of Billy Meier), and Meier was regularly visited by famous celebrities, UFO believers and many other people, he also received generous donations of money and land. The controversy still continues to swirl around Meier to this very day, many people believe Billy Meier’s story is one of the most important events in human history, and many others simply believe the case is just too good to be true. What do you think?"