UFO files – A CBS News/YouGov poll finds most Americans believe intelligent life exists beyond Earth, and a significant share think contact already happened—especially people who watched recently released UFO/UAP videos. Even as debates continue over what UFOs are, Americ
For many Americans, the question isn’t whether extraterrestrial life is possible—it’s whether it has already happened.
The new CBS News/YouGov survey finds that most Americans believe intelligent life exists on other planets. One in five say they think extraterrestrial visitors have already made contact with us. Among those who don’t think contact has happened yet, many still expect it could occur in the future.
If face-to-face encounters were to take place on Earth, Americans say they would respond with more fascination than fear. But the excitement isn’t clean. The poll shows that even when people imagine first contact, some anxiety is mixed in: more respondents say they would feel nervous than calm.
Those feelings track closely with attention to the government’s latest UFO disclosures. The recent release of UFO files has led some Americans to conclude that extraterrestrial life has already visited Earth, and the effect is strongest among people who have watched the videos included in the files.
The poll also points to a growing sense that the story may be bigger than what’s already been released. Eight in 10 Americans think the government knows more about UFOs than it is telling.
Belief in intelligent life elsewhere has spread over time, too. Looking back to 2010, fewer than half of Americans said they believed intelligent life exists on other planets. Since then, larger numbers of men, women, and people across age groups and education levels report believing in that possibility.
A separate question underscores how persistent the UFO debate remains even with new materials in circulation. Seventeen percent of Americans say they have personally seen something they thought was a UFO. The share is similar to what Gallup polling has shown in recent years. but higher than what Gallup found in the 1970s. More men than women report having seen a UFO.
Among Americans who say they’ve seen what they thought was a UFO, belief in extraterrestrial life is widespread. Most of them say that if they met intelligent beings, they would be curious—and many also say they would feel nervous and excited at the same time.
Still, the poll shows deep disagreement about what UFO reports actually mean. Americans are split on whether some sightings might be caused by alien spacecraft visiting Earth or whether UFO accounts are always explained by human or natural activity. Those who believe intelligent life exists overwhelmingly tend to think UFO reports are at least sometimes the result of alien spacecraft visiting. People who don’t believe in extraterrestrial life are more likely to point to human or natural explanations.
The survey also captures how the new UFO/UAP materials are being received. Most Americans have heard or read at least something about the federal government’s release of files and videos related to Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena. or UAP. also known as Unidentified Flying Objects. Four in 10 report watching videos that were released. Three in 10 say the material has made them more likely to believe that aliens visited Earth. That share rises to four in 10 among those who watched the videos.
Even when people split on what UFOs are, they converge on one point: trust in what the government says. A big majority of respondents say the U.S. government is not telling all it knows about UFOs. That view appears among those who believe in extraterrestrial life and among those who do not. It also cuts across politics, with most Democrats, Republicans, and independents expressing the same belief.
The CBS News/YouGov survey was conducted with a nationally representative sample of 2,023 U.S. adults interviewed between June 2–4, 2026. The sample was weighted to be representative of adults nationwide based on gender. age. race. and education. using the U.S. Census American Community Survey and Current Population Survey, as well as 2024 presidential vote. The margin of error is ±2.8 points. CBS News polls cited in this analysis from 1997, 2010, 2017 and 2021 were conducted by phone.
UFO files UAP extraterrestrial life CBS News YouGov poll survey results public belief government transparency first contact
People just want it to be true. Classic.
I saw the clips and now I can’t unsee it. Like if the govt knows more, why are they still acting clueless? Makes me nervous tbh.
So wait, 1 in 5 think contact already happened… but they’re saying it’s “face to face” like in a movie. I don’t buy it, but also I guess it could. The part about being more nervous than calm sounds like they’re training people to react a certain way lol.
EIGHT IN TEN think the govt knows more?? I mean yeah, of course. They lied about a bunch of stuff before. And if they just released more videos, that’s gonna spike belief even if nobody can prove anything. Also how come the article cuts off at “Seventeen percent of…” like cmon, what was it—of people who watched the videos or people who saw lights in the sky last week?