Cornwall 'UFO' photo part of whistleblower's leaked documents
A Powerpoint presentation apparently showing a UFO flying over Cornwall is part of the latest batch of government documents leaked by American National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden.
The presentation was created by British spy agency GCHQ and includes three slides that purport to show alien spaceships, although they have all been dismissed by UFO experts as fakes.
According to the Western Morning News, the first image is a black and white picture of a UFO over Redbud, Illinois, taken on 23 April 1950; the second is a screenshot of a UFO video by Arturo Robles Gil filmed in Mexico; and the third was taken on 1 August 2011 by a holidaymaker at Black Head, Trenarren near St. Austell, Cornwall (pictured above).
Nigel Watson, author of Haynes UFO Investigations Manual, told Yahoo News: "The presentation features three UFO pictures, on slides 35 to 37. They have been explained respectively by skeptics as a hub cap thrown in the air, a deflated Mylar balloon and an out-of-focus seagull taking a poo."
Mr Watson believes the presentation is actually proof of government attempts at mind control and the slides are part of guidelines for spies on how to spread misinformation on the internet.
According to the Exeter Express and Echo, he said: "The main evidence for the cover-up of UFO reports and manipulation of UFO beliefs, as revealed by the documents released by Edward Snowden, is contained in a Powerpoint presentation called, The Art Of Deception: Training For A New Generation Of Online Covert Operations.
"This was produced by the GCHQ, British secret intelligence agency and features 50 slides related to using the internet for psychological operations.
"It was produced by a unit called the Joint Threat Research Intelligence Group (JTRIG) for presentations to the US, National Security Agency (NSA) and other agencies."
This Is Cornwall adds that Mr Watson believes governments know that supposed UFOs can be used to "control the minds of citizens", so the leaked documents could be a blow to agencies that use the presentation to train spies.
He added: "Government agencies are still aware of the power of the belief in UFOs, and that they are willing to use the internet to exploit these beliefs.
"Such deception can be used as a means of covering-up more mundane terrestrial activities - like the testing of secret aircraft or military exercises - or to undermine the credibility of ufologists."
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