jimintomystery:

Bits and pieces of rumors would emerge over the decades, but the CIA had a very hefty disinformation and misinformation campaign going on out of Area 51.

The best example is in the 1950s when the U-2 spy plane was occasionally spotted. It basically looked like a flying cross way, way, way up high in the sky. And people would write to their Congressman and say, “I saw a UFO. Nothing flies this high.” They were right in that regard. Nothing did fly that high, as far as anyone knew.

And so the CIA, as we know from declassified documents now, used that misidentification to their advantage. It let the UFO mythology evolve because it served as a useful cover for the secret base.