I’m usually pretty good at smelling hoaxes online. One look at a photograph or a few seconds of a video is all I need to figure out if it’s a hoax or not. But when I was forwarded this video, I found it difficult to say that it was a downright hoax.

The video starts with some people filming from the inside of a car. The driver is seen pointing outside and saying “it’s a saucer, a saucer.” They scuffle out of the vehicle and for a mere few seconds we can see the classic UFO saucer disc off in the distance. It almost appears to be hovering above the IKEA store. Does IKEA sell UFOs? Didn’t think so…

Then there’s the following statement that appears alongside this video that was posted on YouTube:

Tuvimos que parar el coche, se sentía un vacío en el ambiente, no de silencio sino como que faltara algo… de repente un grupo de gente delante nuestro apuntaba hacia arriba y suerte que estábamos con la cámara… tampoco hay mucho material porque tras ese vacío se desconectó todo, el móvil, el reloj, el coche, y por supuesto la cámara

Quienes me conocen saben que aunque me gusta la ufología no soy cazador de OVNIs, necesito salir de dudas y saber lo que he / hemos visto, y si tenéis gráficas u otros vídeos por favor decidme dónde los estáis colgando

Can’t read Spanish? Here, let me translate that for you:

We had to stop the car, there was an emptiness in the ambiance, not of silence but missing something… suddenly a group of people that were in front of us were pointing up and luckily we had a camera…there’s not a lot of material because of that emptiness, everything seemed to be disconnected [not working], the cellphone, watches, car and of course the camera.

Whoever knows me, knows that although I do like Ufology, I’m not a UFO hunter. I need to end all doubt and figure out what I/we saw. If you have any graphics [photo analysis] or other videos please let me know where they are linked”

To me, the video and online statements are to be taken at face value. I can’t say for certain that the video and the associated statement both are legit, I can’t also say that they’re both a hoax. Typical with these videos, right?

When it comes so such video evidence, I think the best solution is to dutifully investigate all witnesses involved by looking into their personalities, social life, personal life and such psychological assessments. But to find people to actually do the tedious work in Ufology is rare. This is why most videos online are taken for what they are. It’s the word of the camera man you must take.