The public are more likely to say humans should try to remain undiscovered rather than make contact with extra terrestrials
A new US government report on sightings of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) neither confirms nor denies “alien activity”. YouGov data shows that half of Britons (50%) believe aliens exist, including a fifth (22%) who say they’ve been to Earth. Only three in ten people (29%) feel certain they’re not real.
One in fourteen Britons (7%) even believe they’ve seen an UFO themselves. Men are more than twice as likely as women to believe so at 10% vs 4%.
Many people also have a family member (6%), friend (6%) or someone else (6%) they know who says they’ve seen an UFO.
Overall, one in five Britons (20%) either say they’ve seen an UFO or know someone who has.
What to do if humans find proof that aliens exist?
If proof emerges that aliens are real, Britons are more likely to err on the side of caution. Two in five people (39%) say we should keep a low profile and hope they don’t notice us, while three in ten (31%) believe it would be a good idea to attract their attention and make contact.
Men and women are of different opinions. Women are much more likely to prefer a cautious approach, at 40%, with only a quarter (24%) wanting to make contact. Men on the other hand are tied on what the best option is, with 39% wanting to reach out and 38% preferring the “move along, nothing to see here” plan.
Half of the public believe the UK government has secret knowledge about UFOs
Britons are inclined to believe it’s very (21%) or fairly (28%) likely that the government knows something about UFOs that it’s not sharing with the public.
Around two in five are not convinced, including a fifth (21%) who say it’s very unlikely the government is covering something up.
But assuming the UK government does have evidence of UFOs, only one in five Britons (18%) believe it would tell the public, while three in five people (62%) believe it would be kept under wraps.
While Americans are slightly more likely to believe their government has secret information about UFOs than Britons at 54% vs. 49%, Brits are more inclined to say the UK government would hide such evidence if it did exist at 62% vs 56% of Americans.
See the full results here
