Anatomy of a Hoax - Photo Taken of Flying Saucer

Background: In April of 2002 a listener of the Coast to Coast radio program emailed a photograph that he took of a flying disk (saucer) in Yosemite National Park.  Coast to Coast subsequently posted the photograph on the Coast to Coast web site.  The listener's email address was also included on the web site.  I was intrigued with the photo and wanted to find out more details about the alleged sighting from the photographer.  Therefore I contacted the photographer via email and asked a few questions regarding the photo plus I asked if he could mail me the original photo or digital file of the photo.  I received a prompt response from the photographer saying the photograph was hoax and that this was part of "an experiment".  He also stated that he would let Coast to Coast (Art Bell) know that the photo was a hoax.  I did not contact Art Bell to see if the listener ever let him know that the picture was a hoax nor did I inform Art Bell of my email exchange with the photographer.

Conclusion: What more can one say.  This was a hoax.  One wonders how many UFO photos are hoaxed.  What was the motivation of this person to perpetuate a hoax?  Certainly hoaxes are not new to the UFO field.  I believe that all hoaxes should be exposed although I will not ever mention the names of perpetrators.

Bottom line

Hoax.