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> After all, can't rule out astrology being true, either. It can (and has) actually. Whenever astrology has been tested, it has failed to hold any predictive

> After all, can't rule out astrology being true, either. It can (and has) actually. Whenever astrology has been tested, it has failed to hold any predictive properties. As such, it can be ruled out. You know this, because if you didn't then you wouldn't have used astrology as an example. > Do you think this merits credulous attention from "serious" news media? "Merits" is a loaded term and I don't think either of us are qualified to know what that means, but I'll take a shot at it. This was an officially requested report by government officials that was requested by congress and a sizable chunk of the public. The report was released. People are interested in what the report has to say. If the news is there to report on what people find interesting, it certainly has met that criteria. Now, what differentiates this from something like "The Weekly World News"? I think mostly who requested and released the report. This wasn't just some quack on Joe Rogan or Twitter or something, this was the United States Military: the most powerful and most-funded military on the planet. I really do not think this is hard to parse, but just to be clear, here's an example: If I broke my leg tomorrow, and CNN reported on it, I would think "jeez, must be a slow news day". If Joe Biden broke his leg tomorrow, it would not be weird at all for CNN to report on it.

WalterBright 5y ago
> it has failed to hold any predictive properties And so has the UFOs are aliens theory. CNN isn't just reporting it, they're reporting it as credible. In fact, a "sizable chunk of the public" being interested in this is precisely because CNN (and some others) are reporting it as credible. Welcome to CNN creating news, not just reporting it.
- gfodor 5y ago
  You do realize that CNN has been ridiculing this stuff for its entire history, right? This isn't really a "fake news" type of situation, since arguably the fake news was the ridicule.
  - WalterBright 5y ago
    Not lately, they are not ridiculing it. They are treating it as a credible theory. CNN used to actually run news, too.
- tombert 5y ago
  Again, and I don't mean to be patronizing but this really should not be confusing, it's the source of the data. Is CNN irresponsible for presenting it as credible? I mean, I don't know, maybe, but the source isn't a quack from Twitter, it's congress and the military. What is CNN supposed to do, title their headline as "A bunch of bozos in the military think aliens are real LOLOLOL!!!!"?
  - WalterBright 5y ago
    > Is CNN irresponsible for presenting it as credible? Yes. Does CNN brag about following the science? Yes. Is CNN following the science here? Nope. > What is CNN supposed to do, title their headline as "A bunch of bozos in the military think aliens are real LOLOLOL!!!!"? For news that's not credible, yes. That is, if CNN itself wants to have any credibility. For some perspective, CNN pretty much labeled everything the President of the United States said in the last 5 years as a lie. They're hardly afraid of doing that. > I don't mean to be patronizing You shouldn't believe everything authority figures tell you. UFOs are aliens should be pegging your bullshit detector.
    - tombert 5y ago
      > You shouldn't believe everything authority figures tell you. UFOs are aliens should be pegging your bullshit detector. I'm sorry but I really do not know how many times I need to repeat this, but as I have already said twice to you now: I do not think they are aliens. It does trigger my "bullshit detector." I never once claimed I believed in in extraterrestrials visiting earth, I never claimed that the videos congress is talking about are aliens. I feel like you're trying to group me in with morons like Alex Jones or Art Bell or something, and that's extremely dishonest, and since this is the second time you've done this in this thread, I have to think you're doing it on purpose. Again, and I really want to make this clear, unambiguous, and easy to parse: I DO NOT THINK THE UFOS ARE ALIENS. It's probably a compression artifact or a drone or something. Please, please, please stop trying to put words into my mouth. > Yes. Does CNN brag about following the science? Yes. Is CNN following the science here? Nope. I'm hardly a fan of CNN but after about two decades of watching them on/off, I cannot recall a single instance of them "bragging" about "following the science". Admittedly I haven't watched it every day so it's possible I missed something.

WalterBright 5y ago

> it has failed to hold any predictive properties And so has the UFOs are aliens theory. CNN isn't just reporting it, they're reporting it as credible. In fact, a "sizable chunk of the public" being interested in this is precisely because CNN (and some others) are reporting it as credible. Welcome to CNN creating news, not just reporting it.

gfodor 5y ago
You do realize that CNN has been ridiculing this stuff for its entire history, right? This isn't really a "fake news" type of situation, since arguably the fake news was the ridicule.
- WalterBright 5y ago
  Not lately, they are not ridiculing it. They are treating it as a credible theory. CNN used to actually run news, too.
tombert 5y ago
Again, and I don't mean to be patronizing but this really should not be confusing, it's the source of the data. Is CNN irresponsible for presenting it as credible? I mean, I don't know, maybe, but the source isn't a quack from Twitter, it's congress and the military. What is CNN supposed to do, title their headline as "A bunch of bozos in the military think aliens are real LOLOLOL!!!!"?
- WalterBright 5y ago
  > Is CNN irresponsible for presenting it as credible? Yes. Does CNN brag about following the science? Yes. Is CNN following the science here? Nope. > What is CNN supposed to do, title their headline as "A bunch of bozos in the military think aliens are real LOLOLOL!!!!"? For news that's not credible, yes. That is, if CNN itself wants to have any credibility. For some perspective, CNN pretty much labeled everything the President of the United States said in the last 5 years as a lie. They're hardly afraid of doing that. > I don't mean to be patronizing You shouldn't believe everything authority figures tell you. UFOs are aliens should be pegging your bullshit detector.
  - tombert 5y ago
    > You shouldn't believe everything authority figures tell you. UFOs are aliens should be pegging your bullshit detector. I'm sorry but I really do not know how many times I need to repeat this, but as I have already said twice to you now: I do not think they are aliens. It does trigger my "bullshit detector." I never once claimed I believed in in extraterrestrials visiting earth, I never claimed that the videos congress is talking about are aliens. I feel like you're trying to group me in with morons like Alex Jones or Art Bell or something, and that's extremely dishonest, and since this is the second time you've done this in this thread, I have to think you're doing it on purpose. Again, and I really want to make this clear, unambiguous, and easy to parse: I DO NOT THINK THE UFOS ARE ALIENS. It's probably a compression artifact or a drone or something. Please, please, please stop trying to put words into my mouth. > Yes. Does CNN brag about following the science? Yes. Is CNN following the science here? Nope. I'm hardly a fan of CNN but after about two decades of watching them on/off, I cannot recall a single instance of them "bragging" about "following the science". Admittedly I haven't watched it every day so it's possible I missed something.