Sidney Shalett

Sidney Shalett was an American journalist known for his involvement in early U.S. government UFO investigations. In 1949, while Project Grudge sought to debunk flying saucer reports, the Air Force collaborated with Shalett to produce a two-part article titled 'What You Can Believe About Flying Saucers,' published in the Saturday Evening Post on April 30 and May 7. The piece offered terrestrial explanations for most sightings, dismissing others as hoaxes or misidentifications by unreliable witnesses, while acknowledging a few unexplained cases, including some reported by senior Air Force personnel. Intended to reduce public interest, the article paradoxically led to a surge in UFO reports, as noted by Project Blue Book chief Edward J. Ruppelt. Shalett's work represents a key early effort in official UFO debunking.