BEEEP
The Sol Foundation is beginning a scientific study that could provide crucial guidance to both the President and Congress on how to conduct UAP disclosure successfully and with minimal harm. Led by University of California, Irvine epidemiologist Dr. Christopher Salazar and Sol co-founder Dr. Peter Skafish, it will help us understand, for the very first time, how Americans are likely to respond to different aspects of disclosure announcements: who delivers the news, what evidence is presented, how that evidence is verified, and how the message is framed.
WHAT THE STUDY ASKS
Realistic disclosure scenarios, compared
Using a research method known as a “discrete choice experiment,” a nationally representative sample of individuals will compare realistic disclosure scenarios. This lets us understand which combinations of evidence, messengers, and safeguards make disclosure feel credible, reassuring, confusing, or alarming. We will also investigate how reactions differ according to age, race, ethnicity, religion, family situation, prior UAP interest, and trust in government and science.
WHY IT MATTERS
An evidence-based plan for disclosure
The study’s findings can be used to develop an evidence-based plan to execute and communicate disclosure in ways that build public trust, ease fear, and safeguard well-being. The methods could also transform the study of encounters with UAP, broadening the focus beyond individual reports and testimony to include population-level data and mass, societal perception.
WHY NOW
Keeping pace with Washington
The Trump White House has taken several decisive actions toward disclosure, from its releases of UAP records and a recent executive directive concerning whistleblowers to its establishment of the UAP Science Advisory Board Council, which includes several members of Sol’s leadership: Dr. Garry Nolan, Admiral (ret.) Tim Gallaudet, and Dr. Peter Skafish. Whether or not future actions are as decisive as we hope, the process the President has set in motion greatly increases the likelihood that this or a future administration will disclose the federal government’s knowledge of UAP. The study must launch quickly to keep pace with the developments in D.C.