A new video released by an unofficial YouTube channel claiming to be affiliated with the hacktivist collective Anonymous reportedly claims that Nasa is about to announce evidence of alien life.
The video includes excerpts from three articles that appeared on the conspiracy website Ancient Code, which is registered in Croatia, the Daily Mail reported. The video comes after Nasa's recent announcements of Kepler discovering hundreds of new potential exoplanet candidates, 10 of which are believed to be Earth-sized and might be habitable and could further the hunt for alien life.
Anonymous' video centres on Kepler's latest discovery and also features comments from Nasa's Science Mission Directorate associate administrator Thomas Zurbuchen, who during a US congressional hearing in April, spoke about the various exciting discoveries and advances recently made by the space agency.
“Taking into account all of the different activities and missions that are specifically searching for evidence of alien life, we are on the verge of making one of the most profound, unprecedented, discoveries in history.” Zurbuchen said during the congressional hearing of the committee on “Advances in the Search for Life”.
It is important to note, however, that although Zurbuchen's comments are reflective of his and the scientific community's enthusiasm about advances made in the search for extraterrestrial life, they do not hint at NASA potentially having discovered any real evidence of intelligent alien life. Instead, reports speculate that his comments indicate the various recent discoveries of exoplanets. These include the Trappist-1 "sister solar system", hinting at the possibility of the existence of Earth-like habitable planets, which may play host to microbial extraterrestrial life.
Although the purported Anonymous video's claims may appear far-fetched, the hacktivist collective is not alone in assuming that alien life exists. Space tycoon Robert Bigelow, whose firm Bigelow Aerospace manufactured expandable space habitats for the International Space Station (ISS), said aliens may have already visited Earth and may even be living among humans.
According to various astronomers, we could likely discover evidence of the existence of alien life in the next few decades. One astronomer recently said we could discover evidence of alien microbial life within the next 10-15 years. However, famed astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson said in a recent Reddit AMA that the likelihood of discovering complex and intelligent extraterrestrial life within the next 50 years is slim to none.
Meanwhile, the US government has also increased focus on expanding its space divisions within its military, in anticipation of potential space warfare.
Anonymous' new video hints at how the hacktivist group appears to have veered off course. The group was once well known for launching massive campaigns related to prevalent socio-cultural issues, including playing a key role in the Arab Spring. But according to experts, the group seems to have lost its way.
“To my mind Anonymous, by and large, is overpopulated by blowhard script kiddies who barely understand politics let alone hacking.” Rik Ferguson, a security expert and close advisor to Europol said at 2017's Infosecurity Europe.