Barack Obama claims aliens are 'real' — are they kept in Area 51?

Former US President Barack Obama made a statement about aliens that has reignited the debate. YouTuber Brian Tyler Cowen asked him in an interview if aliens really exist. Obama replied, "They are real." But he quickly added that he himself has never seen one.

Area 51 has been associated with reports of aliens and mysterious UFO sightings for many years.

Obama also clarified that aliens are not kept at Area 51, the secret US Air Force base in Nevada. He stated that there is no underground secret facility there. Even if such a thing exists, it would be a massive conspiracy that would have been hidden even from the US President. He was asked,

What is Area 51?

Area 51 has been associated with reports of aliens and mysterious UFO sightings for many years. However, the US government officially acknowledged the existence of this base for the first time in 2013. It is said that modern and secret military aircraft are tested here. Interest in UFOs has increased recently. These are now called Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP). The Pentagon has created a special office called the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) to investigate these cases. The US Congress has also passed legislation requiring the government to release more information related to such incidents.

Are aliens real?

No conclusive evidence of extraterrestrial life has been found yet. Nevertheless, scientists continue to search. In 1999, a project called SETI@Home was launched. Millions of people around the world participated in it. They used their computers to examine radio signals received from the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. In 2020, this large radio telescope collapsed due to a cable break, halting the project. Over 12 billion unique signals were found in 21 years of data. Now, scientists have narrowed these down to 100 potential signals, which are being re-examined using China's FAST radio telescope.