Story perspectives

DoD Launches UAP Portal, Releases 200+ Files Amid Skepticism

6/25/2026

Summary

Story summary

The Department of Defense opened a public portal with raw UAP videos and Cold-War reports, releasing over two hundred declassified files.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth called the move an earnest commitment to transparency.
President Donald Trump said the public can now decide “what the hell is going on.”
Analysts say the portal’s lack of explanatory material and redactions mirrors the 2025 Epstein file releases, which heightened public suspicion.

History

Historical Context

In 1971, Daniel Ellsberg leaked the 7,000-page Pentagon Papers to The New York Times, prompting the Supreme Court’s New York Times Co. v. United States decision that upheld press freedom. The study, commissioned by Defense Secretary Robert McNamara, stayed classified until a 2011 declassification. That transparency precedent still shapes today’s debates over government disclosure of sensitive material.

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Story summary

The Department of Defense opened a public portal with raw UAP videos and Cold-War reports, releasing over two hundred declassified files.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth called the move an earnest commitment to transparency.
President Donald Trump said the public can now decide “what the hell is going on.”
Analysts say the portal’s lack of explanatory material and redactions mirrors the 2025 Epstein file releases, which heightened public suspicion.

1 / 2