Luis Elizondo, a former Pentagon official known for exposing a secretive government UFO program, recently presented an image of a purported UFO "mothership." This discovery was made on October 28, 2023, at a private UFO gathering at Philadelphia's The City Winery. The mothership from the 1977 movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind was similar to the UFO, according to Elizondo, who oversaw the military's Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program.

Presentation DetailsElizondo stated in his presentation that the picture was taken in Romania in 2022. Pointing to the picture, he said, "You know what we captured in Romania in 2022? "By the way, the US Embassy," pointing to the image's origin. The object was described by him as "a huge mini city floating in the sky." Both critics and fans have questioned the image in spite of his claims. Critics swiftly disputed Elizondo's assertion that the image came from the US Embassy by linking it to a Facebook page. According to several reviewers, Elizondo's legitimacy may be threatened by his presentations' growing sensationalism. Reaction from SkepticsGovernment transparency activist John Greenewald Jr. confirmed the photo's provenance. He pointed out that it was first shared in a Facebook group called Mysterious Ancient Discoveries on September 13, 2023. After performing a reverse image search, Greenewald discovered that the picture had received more than 182,000 likes. He speculated that rather than being a real UFO sighting, the picture may be a reflection from an inside chandelier. Additionally, the photograph garnered interest due of its purported location. The photo's background was recognized as the Arad Power Station, a coal-fired plant in Romania. According to Elizondo, the photo was taken at the US Embassy in Bucharest, which is almost 400 miles distant. Frustration Among EnthusiastsElizondo's assertions infuriated UFO enthusiasts. "Lue is 100% using us as pawns to line his pockets," a Reddit member bemoaned. Such occurrences cloud the waters and divert attention from more important conversations regarding UFOs, according to another writer. Speculation about Elizondo's intentions was heightened by the fact that his most recent book had just become a national blockbuster. By Wednesday, Elizondo claimed that a "friend in Government" had given him the picture and was responsible for the false information. This assertion did little to allay doubts about his earlier claims. Previous Allegations of FabricationElizondo's former coworker, retired USAF Staff Sergeant McGowan, offered insight into his believability. He asserted that Elizondo has a track record of making up or misrepresenting facts. McGowan remembered times Elizondo displayed what he said were classified films on his own mobile phone, raising questions about their veracity. McGowan recounted an incident where Elizondo showed a video allegedly captured by a Soviet spacecraft close to Mars. Later on, though, McGowan identified the movie as an old public release from the Soviet research project Phobos 2. Government Interest in UFOsConcerns about "mothership" UFOs and their ability to launch drone swarms have grown among government agencies. Numerous UFO encounters over key military sites were documented in internal records that were obtained through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). During the 2019 winter holidays, there were notable reports of mystery drones in eastern Colorado and surrounding areas. Both the public and law police were alarmed by these occurrences. The close proximity of these sightings to intercontinental ballistic missile facilities was of special concern to the military.