Aliens, Area 51 Intrigue & The Stranger Things That Went Viral After Obama’s Remark

Last Updated:February 18, 2026, 16:32 IST

Obama’s remark triggers viral row: Aliens to secrets, why Area 51 remains mired in conspiracy theories, explained

In a recent podcast interview, former US President Barack Obama ignited a row on the internet by calling the aliens “real". He quickly went on to add that “they are not being kept in Area 51".

As the conspiracy theories went viral, Obama issued a clarification saying the clip “did not capture his actual assessment of whether aliens exist, due to the speed of the questions".

Alies to secrets, why Area 51 remains mired in conspiracy theories, explained

What did Barack Obama say?

During a rapid-fire question-and-answer segment as a guest on left-wing political commentator Brian Tyler Cohen’s programme, which was released on Saturday, Obama was asked whether he believes extraterrestrials are real.

“They’re real, but I haven’t seen them," the 44th president of the US responded. “They’re not being kept at Area 51. There’s no underground facility unless there’s this enormous conspiracy and they hid it from the president of the United States," he saod.

Why the remark went viral and the clarification that followed

Obama’s remark fuelled the conspiracy theory claiming that the US government was hiding aliens at Area 51, a highly classified air force site in Nevada.

On Sunday evening, Obama said in a post on Instagram that the viral clip did not capture his actual assessment of whether aliens exist, due to the speed of the questions. “Statistically, the universe is so vast that the odds are good there’s life out there," he stated.

“But the distances between solar systems are so great that the chances we’ve been visited by aliens is low, and I saw no evidence during my presidency that extraterrestrials have made contact with us. Really!"

What is Area 51?

Area 51 is a highly classified United States Air Force (USAF) facility located within the Nevada Test and Training Range, about 83 miles north-northwest of Las Vegas. Officially known as Homey Airport or Groom Lake, the site has been used since 1955 primarily for the development and testing of experimental aircraft and weapons systems.

The base was established during the Cold War to test the U-2 spy plane. It later hosted the development of other advanced aircraft, including the SR-71 Blackbird, A-12 Archangel, and the F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighter.

The U.S. government denied the base’s existence for decades until the CIA officially acknowledged it in 2013 following a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.

While specific projects remain top-secret, it is believed the facility continues to test cutting-edge drones, radar-evasion systems, and possibly hypersonic technology.

Many UFO reports in the area align with the test flights of classified spy planes that flew higher and looked different than any commercial aircraft of the time. The base is protected by armed guards (“Cammo Dudes"), buried motion sensors, and surveillance cameras, with signs warning that deadly force is authorized for trespassers.

The intrigue around Area 51

While it has been the center of alien conspiracy theories for decades, declassified CIA documents from 2013 confirmed it was primarily used for testing high-altitude surveillance aircraft like the U-2 and Oxcart.

In 2019, there was an attempt to “storm" Area 51, with 1.5 million people signing up to ambush the once-secret facility. But ultimately, only about 150 social media influencers arrived at the site, and the events that day ended with a few arrests before turning into a music festival.

In 2013, declassified documents indicated that the site was used for aerial testing of US government projects, including the U-2 and Oxcart aerial surveillance programmes.

After Obama’s remarks

Many in the UFO community believe Obama’s remarks were part of a planned soft disclosure—a gradual process by the government to acclimate the public to the reality of extraterrestrials. Believers argue his Instagram clarification was a “forced walk-back" by intelligence agencies to maintain control after he “slipped up".

Some theorists analyzed his phrasing, suggesting he was sending secret messages to specific groups. They contend that by saying “They’re real" before immediately mentioning Area 51, he was confirming existence while intentionally using a “distraction" (Area 51) to hide where they are actually kept.

Obama joked that an underground facility would have to be an “enormous conspiracy" hidden even from the President. Conspiracy theorists took this literally, claiming that Unelected “Deep State" officials run these programs without presidential oversight. This theory suggests Obama was genuinely kept in the dark by a “shadow government".

Since Obama specifically named Area 51 as empty, speculation shifted to other secretive sites. Popular alternatives mentioned in social media discussions include Dugway Proving Ground in Utah,

Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, Submerged bases in the ocean, linked to recent Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) reports.

The wild conspiracy theories around Area 51

The intense secrecy of the base has made it the epicenter of UFO folklore and various unproven theories:

The most famous claim is that the base houses crashed alien spacecraft and the bodies of their crew, specifically from the 1947 Roswell incident.

Some theorists believe the military uses the site to reverse-engineer alien technology to create futuristic human weapons.

In 1989, a man named Bob Lazar claimed he worked at a sub-facility near Groom Lake called “S-4," where he saw nine alien flying saucers powered by an undiscovered “Element 115". His claims were later largely discredited.

Many believe the visible base is just a small part of a massive underground complex where experiments are hidden.

News explainers Aliens, Area 51 Intrigue & The Stranger Things That Went Viral After Obama’s Remark

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