How to View the Released UFO Files

Begin at the government page that published the material. For current PURSUE releases, the Department of War portal is the release authority. For AARO case videos or reports, use the AARO record page. For archival transfers, use the National Archives Catalog or Record Group 615 index. The hosting page establishes provenance, release date, agency attribution, and any explanatory text that may be lost when a file is reposted elsewhere.

Probed mirrors the research structure around those sources, not the authority of the sources themselves. Open a Probed file page to see the official identifier, media type, release context, incident metadata, direct source links, and any source-located findings. Then use the official link to verify the underlying document or media. If a social post or secondary article lacks an official identifier, search the distinctive title or file code in the tracker before relying on it.

Documents may open in an embedded viewer or download directly as PDFs. Video and audio can be hosted on an agency media system, a direct file endpoint, or a government video platform. Save the landing-page URL along with the direct media URL because direct files can move while the release record remains the best citation. When a release offers a large archive, use its individual records first to understand naming and folder structure before downloading gigabytes of material.

For reproducible research, record the access date, publisher, release number, official identifier, file name, and page or timecode. Preserve the original file rather than a recompressed social copy. If the agency supplies a checksum or metadata export, keep it beside the media. Probed findings link to exact pages or timecodes when those locators exist, but researchers should still verify the cited passage in the official file.

Read headings, stamps, distribution markings, dates, signatures, and attachment references before extracting a claim. A government file can document that a statement was received without endorsing the statement. Likewise, “unresolved” can mean the available data was insufficient for attribution; it is not automatically a finding of extraordinary technology. Note whether the language belongs to a witness, investigator, later analyst, or release-page editor.

Cross-check related material by official identifier, incident date, location, and agency. A document and video may describe the same occurrence while using different titles. Conversely, similar descriptive titles can refer to unrelated cases. Probed exposes these fields separately and connects records only when the production data supports the relationship.

A missing attachment is not evidence that it was necessarily withheld for a particular reason. It may not have been digitized, transferred, linked correctly, or included in that release. Check the agency’s reading room, AARO records, the NARA collection, and bulk-download indexes. NARA guidance recognizes records released in full, released in part, or withheld in full, and its catalog descriptions may exist even when a digital object is unavailable online.

If the record still cannot be found, use FOIA.gov to identify the correct agency component. Describe existing records rather than asking the agency to answer a question. Include known offices, custodians, date ranges, identifiers, subject terms, and preferred electronic format. Keep the request focused and save the tracking number, correspondence, and final response with the research record.