I will be talking about how the Internet has become the platform of choice for the public to discuss the UFO phenomenon and where new UFO myths are born. The talk will focus on the challenges that UFO researchers encounter when confronted with virtual witnesses who hide behind their Internet avatars, anonymous experts whose credentials cannot be verified, and the new Ufologists who conduct their investigations exclusively by computer. I will also discuss how the Internet has become the media of choice for hoaxers and disinformers and will take the audience through two recent cases that demonstrate the pitfalls of this virtual world.


James Carrion - Bio
James began his lifelong interest with the UFO phenomenon at the age of 11 when he began his own UFO news clipping collection. As a young boy, James lived in Puerto Rico at a time when the island was a hotbed of UFO activity and he later researched the Chupacabra and Laguna Cartagena sightings. James served for four years as a U.S. Army Russian Linguist in the Military Intelligence Corps and became fascinated with the story of the Gulf Breeze six, a group of young Military Intelligence soldiers that went AWOL from their base in Augsburg, Germany to search for UFOs in Gulf Breeze.

Upon moving to Colorado in 1996, James joined the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) and worked as the state section director for both North Eastern and North Western Colorado. James proposed and implemented MUFON’s Pandora Project, the electronic archiving of all MUFON’s UFO case files and served on the MUFON International Business Board for three years before being elected as the MUFON International Director in 2006. James holds a Bachelors of Arts in Russian Language and a Masters of Arts in International Affairs, both from Florida State University. James is also the CEO of a national computer training company and is widely recognized as a computer expert. James currently lives in Bellvue, Colorado with his wife Lisa and son Aidan.


MUFON Website : www.mufon.com/