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Poll Reveals UFO Belief

Sci Fi Wire (Sci Fi Channel), 17-October-02

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Summary: A new national poll found that 72 percent of Americans believe the government is not telling the public everything it knows about UFO activity, and 68 percent think the government knows more about extraterrestrial life than it is letting on, the SCI FI Channel reported.

A new national poll found that 72 percent of Americans believe the government is not telling the public everything it knows about UFO activity, and 68 percent think the government knows more about extraterrestrial life than it is letting on, the SCI FI Channel reported. The poll—sponsored by SCI FI as part of its promotion for Steven Spielberg's 20-hour SF miniseries Taken—also revealed that men more than women think such information should be shared with the public. RoperASW conducted the poll of 1,021 adults aged 18 and over from Aug. 23-25. The margin of error is 3 percent.

Among the poll's other findings:

•The younger you are, the stronger your belief that the government is withholding information about UFOs and extraterrestrial life: 80 percent of respondents 18-24 years old said so, compared with 75 percent of those 25-34 years old and 73 percent of those 35-49 years old.

•Just over half (53 percent) of respondents said that their level of trust in the government has remained stable over the past five years, while nearly a third (29 percent) said that they trust the government less than they did five years ago.

•Most respondents said that the government does not share enough information with the public in general (55 percent) and that the U.S. government should not withhold information about UFO sightings (60 percent) and potential encounters with extraterrestrial life (58 percent) when national security is not an issue.

Taken premieres on SCI FI in December.

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Public Opinion Polls on UFOs