Projects

Robertson Panel

A CIA-convened scientific panel that met in early 1953 to assess US Air Force UFO sighting data and recommended a public debunking and education campaign.

Central Intelligence Agency · Howard Robertson · 1952-12 to 1953-01 · Concluded

The Robertson Panel was a scientific review panel convened by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) at the 1953 Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Robertson Panel convening to assess reports of Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP). In 1952-12, the US government enlisted physicist Howard Robertson to convene a panel of distinguished scientists,¹ commissioned by CIA director Walter Bedell Smith.² According to In Plain Sight, the sightings prompting the panel’s formation had raised serious national security concerns, being ‘of such nature that they are not attributable to natural phenomenon or known types of aerial vehicles’.³ H. Marshall Chadwell’s concerns about and interest in the topic of UFOs led to the panel’s establishment,⁴ and in 1953-01 he clandestinely sponsored the review, led by California Institute of Technology (Caltech) physicist H.P. Robertson.⁵ The Report on the Historical Record of U.S. Government Involvement with Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP), Volume I states that the panel’s establishment followed a recommendation from the CIA’s Intelligence Advisory Committee to enlist scientists to review and appraise the available evidence.⁶ Its panellists had expertise across nuclear physics, high-energy physics, radar, electronics, and geophysics.⁷

In its 1953-01 Robertson Panel report, delivered in 1953-01, the panel asserted that UAPs were no threat to national security, according to In Plain Sight.⁸ The Report on the Historical Record of U.S. Government Involvement with Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP), Volume I states that the panel reviewed all United States Air Force (USAF) data and concluded that most Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) reports had ordinary explanations,⁹ unanimously finding no evidence of a direct threat to US national security¹⁰ or of extraterrestrial origin.¹¹ The same report notes that the complete lack of any physical hardware recovered from unexplained sightings contributed to this assessment,¹² while the panel remained concerned that a continuing flood of reports could provoke mass hysteria exploitable by the Soviet Union.¹³

The panel’s findings became the impetus for the USAF’s Project Blue Book and included a recommendation for perception management - a media campaign to manage public perception of UFO phenomena.¹⁴ In 1953, the panel recommended a public education campaign built on publicising already-debunked UFO cases while saying nothing about unexplained ones.¹⁵ The Report on the Historical Record states that the panel proposed an active programme of ’training’ and ‘debunking’, using public media tools to steer the public away from reporting UFOs,¹⁶ and Imminent: Inside the Pentagon’s Hunt for UFOs states that it advised the USAF to enlist the Walt Disney Company and the mass media in the effort.¹⁷ American Cosmic describes this training-and-debunking programme as a mass-media education campaign to be enacted with the help of academics and media moguls,¹⁸ using documentary-style techniques and authoritative experts to help shape public perceptions.¹⁹ According to the Report on the Historical Record, this debunking proposal reasoned that the panel did not believe UFOs were foreign technological threats or of extraterrestrial origin, but viewed the persistent flood of reports as cluttering and bogging down government processes.²⁰

According to Messengers of Deception: UFO Contacts and Cults, the panel also recommended monitoring the activities of civilian UFO groups,²¹ naming the Civilian Flying Saucer Investigators of Los Angeles and the Aerial Phenomena Research Organization of Wisconsin as bodies that should be watched for their potential influence on mass thinking and possible use for subversive purposes.²² The Report on the Historical Record similarly notes that the panel suggested monitoring domestic UFO enthusiast organisations,²³ and Imminent states that the CIA feared US air defence communications might be overwhelmed by UAP reports.²⁴

J. Allen Hynek said that the panel’s primary role was to debunk all UAP sightings and put control of investigations back with the air force,²⁵ and wrote that in convening the panel, the CIA was fearful not of UFOs, but of UFO reports.²⁶ According to the Report on the Historical Record, in 1953-02 CIA officer Frederick Durant drafted a report for the CIA’s Assistant Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Office of Scientific Intelligence (OSI) on the panel’s work and findings; this became known as The Durant Report.²⁷ The same report adds that Durant’s memorandum provided a brief history of the panel and an unofficial supplement containing comments and suggestions from members that were not included in the final report.²⁸ American Cosmic describes the Durant Report as an account of the proceedings of the Robertson Panel, a US government committee convened to study UFOs,²⁹ while the Report on the Historical Record states that it offered no distinct or separate findings of note, mostly summarising the panel’s own conclusions.³⁰

Richard Drain played a principal role in the 1953 policy decision, made after the panel, to debunk UFOs and use stigma, ridicule and taboo to disengage public interest in the subject.³¹ The panel changed the tone of official handling of UAP and developed a systematic ridicule process, while the US government secretly took the subject very seriously.³² Television host Phil McGraw has said that he considers the US government’s method of operation has been to hide UAP information from the public going back as far as 1947.³³

References (33)

In December 1952, the US government enlisted physicist Howard Robertson to convene a panel of distinguished scientists.
“In December that year, the US government enlisted physicist Dr Howard Robertson to convene a panel of distinguished scientists to investigate what these unidentified objects were”
In Plain Sight ch8:17712-17886 View the source record →
The panel was commissioned by CIA director Walter Bedell Smith.
“The director of the Central Intelligence Agency, Walter Bedell Smith, who commissioned the so-called Robertson Panel”
In Plain Sight ch8:17892-18003 View the source record →
The sightings prompting the panel were seen as raising serious national security concerns, being of a nature not attributable to natural phenomena or known aerial vehicles.
“The sightings of UAPs raised serious national security concerns and were 'of such nature that they are not attributable to natural phenomenon or known types of aerial vehicles.'”
In Plain Sight ch8:18153-18320 View the source record →
H. Marshall Chadwell's concerns about and interest in UFOs led to the panel's establishment.
“His concerns about and interest in the topic led to the establishment of the Robertson Panel.”
Report on the Historical Record of U.S. Government Involvement with Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP), Volume I char:38784-38871 View the source record →
Chadwell clandestinely sponsored a UFO scientific review panel led by Caltech physicist H.P. Robertson.
“H. Marshall Chadwell clandestinely sponsored the establishment of a UFO scientific review panel led by California Institute of Technology physicist, H.P. Robertson.”
Report on the Historical Record of U.S. Government Involvement with Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP), Volume I char:38935-39089 View the source record →
The panel's establishment followed a CIA Intelligence Advisory Committee recommendation to enlist scientists to review the evidence.
“This action followed a recommendation from CIA's Intelligence Advisory Committee to enlist the services of selected "scientists to review and appraise the available evidence in light of pertinent scientific theories."”
Report on the Historical Record of U.S. Government Involvement with Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP), Volume I char:39100-39307 View the source record →
Panellists had expertise in nuclear physics, high-energy physics, radar, electronics, and geophysics.
“The panelists had expertise in a range of fields, including nuclear physics, high-energy physics, radar, electronics, and geophysics.”
Report on the Historical Record of U.S. Government Involvement with Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP), Volume I char:39414-39536 View the source record →
The panel's January 1953 report asserted that UAPs were no threat to national security.
“In its January 1953 report, the panel asserted the UAPs were no threat to national security”
In Plain Sight ch8:18736-18819 View the source record →
The panel reviewed all USAF data and concluded most UFO reports had ordinary explanations.
“The panel reviewed all USAF data and concluded that most reports had ordinary explanations.”
Report on the Historical Record of U.S. Government Involvement with Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP), Volume I char:39808-39886 View the source record →
The panel unanimously concluded there was no evidence of a direct threat to US national security.
“The panel unanimously concluded that there was no evidence of a direct threat to U.S. national secur”
Report on the Historical Record of U.S. Government Involvement with Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP), Volume I char:39900-39986 View the source record →
The panel found no evidence of a security threat or of extraterrestrial origin.
“ity from UFOs or that they were of extraterrestrial origin.”
Report on the Historical Record of U.S. Government Involvement with Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP), Volume I char:40004-40052 View the source record →
The complete lack of recovered physical hardware contributed to the panel's assessment.
“The Robertson Panel discussed the complete lack of the recovery of any "hardware" resulting from "unexplained UFO sightings" which contributed to its assessment that the reported UFOs were neither a foreign threat nor of extraterrestrial origin.”
Report on the Historical Record of U.S. Government Involvement with Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP), Volume I char:40524-40762 View the source record →
The panel was concerned about mass hysteria and possible Soviet exploitation.
“The panel was, however, concerned with the outbreak of mass hysteria and how the Soviets could exploit it.”
Report on the Historical Record of U.S. Government Involvement with Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP), Volume I char:40063-40166 View the source record →
The panel's report was the impetus for Project Blue Book and suggested a media campaign to manage public perception of UFOs.
“The 1953 Robertson Panel, which was the impetus for Project Blue Book, suggested a media campaign to manage public perception of the phenomena.”
American Cosmic ch4:13235-13368
The panel recommended a public education campaign built on publicising already-debunked UFO cases while saying nothing about unexplained ones.
“So 1953, the CIA's Robertson panel of scientists convened and recommended a public education campaign built on one strategy, publicize the cases that have already been debunked and say nothing about the ones that haven't.”
Dr. Phil read the UAP files before the public, here's what he found | Reality Check 00:14:01.2-00:14:17.4
The panel proposed an active 'training' and 'debunking' effort using public media tools to steer the public from reporting UFOs.
“There was at least one USG proposal - by the CIA-sponsored Robertson Panel - to engage in an active "training" and "debunking" effort using various public media tools to steer the public away from reporting UFOs.”
Report on the Historical Record of U.S. Government Involvement with Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP), Volume I char:77231-77438 View the source record →
The panel advised the USAF to enlist the Walt Disney Company and the mass media in a debunking campaign.
“this CIA panel advised the Air Force to enlist the Walt Disney Company and the mass media in a campaign to “debunk” UAP.”
Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs ch6:3262-3378 View the source record →
The training-and-debunking programme was a mass-media education campaign enacted with academics and media moguls.
“they recommended a project of perception management that they termed "training and debunking": a mass-media education campaign, enacted with the help of academics and media moguls, to control public knowledge about UFOs.”
American Cosmic ch2:10087-10302
The report recommended documentary-style techniques and authoritative experts to help mould public perceptions.
“Significantly, the report recommends the very kinds of strategies used by the screenwriters of The Conjuring, the student producers of The Blair Witch Project, and Grace Hill Media's marketers—that is, the use of documentary-style techniques and authoritative experts to help mold public perceptions.”
American Cosmic ch4:13379-13671
The debunking proposal reasoned the panel did not view UFOs as a foreign threat or extraterrestrial, but as reports cluttering government processes.
“The proposal reasoned that it did not believe UFOs were foreign technological threats or of extraterrestrial origin; rather, it viewed the persistent flood of reports as cluttering and bogging down government processes”
Report on the Historical Record of U.S. Government Involvement with Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP), Volume I char:77444-77653 View the source record →
The panel recommended monitoring the activities of civilian UFO groups.
“One of the recommendations of a recently declassified CIA/USAF panel on UFOs, which met in 1953, was precisely to monitor the activities of civilian groups”
Messengers of Deception: UFO Contacts and Cults ch13:7950-8099
The report named the Civilian Flying Saucer Investigators of Los Angeles and the Aerial Phenomena Research Organization of Wisconsin as groups to be watched.
“The Panel took cognizance of the existence of such groups as the "Civilian Flying Saucer Investigators" of Los Angeles and the "Aerial Phenomena Research Organization" (Wisconsin). It was believed that such organizations should be watched because of their great influence on mass thinking if widespread sightings should occur. The apparent irresponsibility and the possible use of such groups for subversive purposes should be kept in mind.”
Messengers of Deception: UFO Contacts and Cults ch13:8108-8543
The panel suggested monitoring domestic UFO enthusiast organisations.
“suggested monitoring domestic UFO enthusiast organizations”
Report on the Historical Record of U.S. Government Involvement with Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP), Volume I char:40242-40287 View the source record →
The panel feared US air defence communications might be overwhelmed by UAP reports.
“Claiming to fear US air defense communications might be overwhelmed by UAP reports...”
Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs ch6:3178-3253 View the source record →
Hynek concluded the panel's primary role was to debunk sightings and return investigative control to the air force.
“It became clear to Project Blue Book consultant Dr J. Allen Hynek that the Robertson Panel's primary role was to debunk all UAP sightings and to put control of investigations into the phenomenon back with the air force”
In Plain Sight ch8:18334-18547 View the source record →
Hynek wrote that the CIA was fearful not of UFOs, but of UFO reports.
“Hynek wrote, 'In short, in convening the panel, the CIA was fearful not of UFOs, but of UFO reports.'”
In Plain Sight ch8:18630-18723 View the source record →
Frederick Durant drafted a report for the CIA's Assistant Director of the OSI on the panel's work and findings.
“CIA officer Frederick Durant drafted a report for CIA's Assistant Director of OSI on the Robertson Panel's work and findings.”
Report on the Historical Record of U.S. Government Involvement with Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP), Volume I char:40834-40950 View the source record →
Durant's memorandum gave a brief history of the panel plus an unofficial supplement of members' comments not in the final report.
“Durant's memorandum provided a brief history of the panel and an unofficial supplement that provided comments and suggestions from members which they had not included in the final report.”
Report on the Historical Record of U.S. Government Involvement with Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP), Volume I char:40960-41140 View the source record →
The Durant Report is an account of the proceedings of the Robertson Panel, convened to study UFOs.
“One of the most famous instances of this can be found in what is known as the Durant Report, an account of the proceedings of the 1953 Robertson Panel, a US government committee convened to study UFOs.”
American Cosmic ch2:9786-9982
The Durant Report offered no distinct findings, mostly summarising the panel's own conclusions.
“The report offered no distinct or separate findings of note and mostly summarized the findings of the Robertson Panel.”
Report on the Historical Record of U.S. Government Involvement with Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP), Volume I char:41415-41527 View the source record →
Richard Drain played a principal role in the 1953 decision to debunk UFOs using stigma, ridicule and taboo.
“He's very prominently featured in the coverage from the 1953 decision after the Robertson panel. to essentially debunk UFOs, like he played a principal role in the decision, the policy decision, to essentially play down the UFO subject and to use stigma and ridicule and taboo to try to disengage public interest, to stop the public from looking at the UFO subject.”
Watergate, the JFK assassination and a UFO secret at the center of it all | Reality Check 00:39:14.5-00:39:41.2
The panel changed the tone of official UAP handling and developed a systematic ridicule process while the government secretly took the subject seriously.
“the 1953 Robertson panel kind of changed the tone and developed a systematic ridicule process while the government was secretly taking this very seriously”
David Grusch: The Whistleblower Who Told Congress We're Not Alone 00:05:24.5-00:05:32.9
Phil McGraw said he considers the US government's approach has been to hide UAP information from the public since 1947.
“I guess the MO has been to hide this from the country going back as far as 1947, the Robertson panel”
David Grusch: The Whistleblower Who Told Congress We're Not Alone 00:04:26.4-00:04:35.2

Robertson Panel

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