Maybe this new semi-official acceptance of UFOs we’re seeing lately in the media is just the government’s clumsy way of preparing the public psychologically
for release of news about the actual discovery of an extraterrestrial civilization. All those videos and “pilot sightings” are bogus, but maybe they figure it will
keep it from being a shock and leading to world wide disruption and social collapse.

Oh, I’m not saying it will necessarily work; just that they’ve convinced themselves it will work. If you’ve convinced yourself the release of a legitimate SETI success to the public will cause public panic or lethargy, perhaps you’ve also convinced yourself the news has to be released with some preparation and care. Maybe they’ve known about a genuine SETI signal for years now, and all this phony gun camera video is just a way to prep us for the shock.