Over fifty years have passed since the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space expressed concern about adverse public reactions by the public to the discovery of extraterrestrial life. For many UFOlogists, government's expectations of widespread social chaos and psychological disintegration rank high among the reasons for possible stonewalling, subterfuge and duplicity. Frightening scenarios of public reaction can be traced to Orson Welles' 1937 "War of the Worlds" radio broadcast that, according to newspaper reports of that day, triggered national panic. However, examination of a broad range of episodes when it was widely believed that extraterrestrial life had been discovered, survey research results and other findings suggest that under a wide range of detection scenarios public meltdown is unlikely. Both non-disclosure and disclosure offer advantages and disadvantages, and it is in no way clear that non-disclosure offers the greater net benefits. Problems inherent in governmental agencies and other large bureaucracies may strengthen wide-spread beliefs in a UFO cover-up.
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