How we work.

Inclusion criteria

A file enters the archive if it meets at least one of: (a) it was released through PURSUE or an equivalent official disclosure program; (b) it is referenced in primary source material from a U.S. federal agency archive (FBI Vault, NSA reading room, NASA archives, National Archives, DIA reading room); or (c) it is a historically significant case routinely cited in academic UAP literature where the official documentation is itself in the public domain.

Files that originate solely from podcasts, social media, or non-government commentators are not in scope for this archive. They may exist and be interesting, but they belong to a different kind of publication.

We do not seed the corpus with placeholder, illustrative, or didactic-example records. Every entry must correspond to a specific identifiable underlying record in a primary source. When a file ID is known but a deep-linked URL has not been verified, the source label says “Search PURSUE for [file ID]” rather than promising a deep link.

Status labels

Each file is tagged as one of three statuses, deliberately limited to keep judgments coarse and conservative:

• Unresolved, the originating agency or the prevailing scientific consensus has not converged on an explanation.
• Explained, there is a stable, well-supported explanation in the literature, even if a small minority of researchers still contest it. The explanation is named in the "Prevailing explanation" block on the file page.
• Contested, competing explanations exist with comparable support, or the available evidence is too thin to commit to either of the above. Many historical files fall here.

Summary and context writing

Each file has three written sections: a Summary (one or two sentences, factual), an Official description (faithful to the source agency's framing), and an Editor's context (background, related cases, things to know). Where a Prevailing explanation exists, it appears in its own clearly labeled block.

Editorial commentary is visually distinct from the source material. Readers should always be able to tell what is the document speaking and what is the editor speaking.

Sourcing and provenance

Every file links back to at least one primary source on a government agency domain. Where third-party hosts (news outlets, public archives) preserve material that is otherwise blocked from direct hotlinking, those mirrors are linked alongside the primary source.

File hashes, FOIA case numbers, and page counts are surfaced on file pages where known.

What we do not do

• We do not assert aliens exist or do not exist.
• We do not endorse specific whistleblowers, podcasters, or disclosure activists.
• We do not host first-person contact, channeling, or mission-from-beyond content.
• We do not silently edit. Corrections appear in the public log on the errata page.
• We do not paywall files, the digest, or any reference content.

Funding and conflicts

Self-funded by the editor. No advertisers. No sponsorships. No government funding. No ties to UAP research organizations, podcasters, or media properties.

Contact

Tips, corrections, requests for inclusion of a file, or any other correspondence: hello@socialmediaforaliens.com.