Bob Lazar: Difference between revisions

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Lazar claims to be a [[physicist]] and to have worked in this capacity during his tenure at the Los Alamos Meson Physics Facility.<ref name=reaima/><ref name="KLAS interview">{{Cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UjqFaQq_7I|title=Lazar describes alien technology housed at secret S-4 base in Nevada -- Part 5|date=2019-11-08|last=Knapp|first=George|type=|language=|publisher=[[KLAS-TV]]/8 News NOW Las Vegas|author-link=George Knapp (television journalist)|time=4:38 - 7:25|time-caption=Section|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201118192025/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UjqFaQq_7I|archive-date=November 18, 2020|access-date=2020-11-18|url-status=live}}</ref> This assertion was echoed by local journalist Terry England, who interviewed Lazar about his interest in [[Jet car|jet-powered cars]] in 1982;{{efn|This was a story by ''Los Alamos Monitor'' journalist Terry England, which circulated regionally via the [[Associated Press]].<ref>{{cite news|first=Terry|last=England|title=LA man joins the jet set – at 200 miles an hour|work=Los Alamos Monitor|date=June 27, 1982|pages=A1 & A8|quote=[Bob] Lazar, a physicist at the Los Alamos Meson Physics Facility...}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=England|first=Terry|date=July 30, 1982|title='Jet' isn't an idle boast on this car|page=A-6|work=[[The Santa Fe New Mexican]]|agency=[[Associated Press]]|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/44147720/jet-isnt-an-idle-boast-on-this-car/|access-date=November 22, 2020|via=newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=July 26, 1982|title=This is a real hot rod|page=8|work=[[Alamogordo Daily News]]|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/alamogordo-daily-news-jul-26-1982-p-8/|access-date=February 13, 2020|via=NewspaperArchive.com}}</ref>}} some media outlets have since dubbed him a "physicist".{{efn|See: <ref name="Newsroom21">{{Cite episode|title=What Sparked the Government's Interest in UFOs|url=http://edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/2106/05/cnr.07.html|access-date=June 7, 2022|series=CNN Newsroom|series-link=CNN Newsroom|network=[[CNN]]|date=June 5, 2021}}</ref><ref name="DS19">{{cite web|url=https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/a28443500/bob-lazar-area-51-netflix-flying-saucers/|title=Area 51 details left out of Netflix's Bob Lazar documentary|last=Seddon|first=Dan|date=July 19, 2019|website=[[Digital Spy]]|access-date=June 7, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1994/09/08/Model-based-on-UFO-witness-description/3157778996800/|title=Model based on UFO witness description|date=September 8, 1994|website=[[United Press International|UPI]]|access-date=June 11, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Peterson|first=Todd|date=November 7, 2013|title=Time Out: Las Vegas|edition=8th|publisher=[[Time Out Group]]|pages=266–267|isbn=978-1-84670-398-0|quote=Physicist Bob Lazar...}}</ref>}} Asked about the article in 2021, however, England admitted that he took Lazar's claims at face value and did not [[Fact-checking|fact-check]] his credentials as a physicist.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://medium.com/@signalsintelligence/bob-lazar-theres-more-to-the-story-17829c2ff650|title=Bob Lazar: There's More to the Story|author=SignalsIntelligence|date=February 22, 2022|website=[[Medium (website)|Medium]]|access-date=June 18, 2024}}</ref> Inquiry into Lazar's position at Los Alamos revealed his role to have been a technician for a contractor firm, and that he worked neither as a physicist or for the lab directly.<ref name=reaima/><ref name="ProtheroCallahan2017"/><ref name="Goldwag"/> As such, the facility retains no records on Lazar, whom Prothero states was "in short, rather a minor player."<ref name="ProtheroCallahan2017"/> The [[Smithsonian Institution|Smithsonian]], along with various other mainstream news outlets, have stated that his designation as a "physicist" is [[self-proclaimed]].{{efn|The [[Smithsonian Institution|Smithsonian]], and various mainstream outlets, have noted Lazar's "physicist" designation as either "self-proclaimed"<ref name="Nelson">{{cite web|url=https://inews.co.uk/news/science/area-51-what-aliens-conspiracy-theories-storm-raid-event-facebook-memes-latest-news-314042|title=What is Area 51? Alien conspiracy theories and history of Nevada site as Storm Area 51 Facebook event passes 1 million attendees|last=Nelson|first=Alex|date=July 16, 2019|website=[[i (newspaper)|iNews]]|access-date=May 11, 2022}}</ref><ref name="Bedo">{{cite web|url=https://www.news.com.au/technology/science/space/everything-you-need-to-know-about-area-51/news-story/5a8adfff2c01f2695a8e16f5217dc1f4|title=Everything you need to know about Area 51|last=Bedo|first=Stephanie|date=July 19, 2019|publisher=[[news.com.au]]|access-date=May 11, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/98/08/09/reviews/980809.09vince.html|title=Alien Nation|last=Vincent|first=Glyn|date=August 9, 1998|website=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=May 25, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://au.news.yahoo.com/why-people-want-to-storm-the-mysterious-area-51-063710245.html|title='Let's see them aliens': Inside the mysterious Area 51 and why people want to storm the secret base|last=Lambert|first=Olivia|date=July 17, 2019|website=[[Yahoo! News]]|access-date=May 25, 2022|url-status=unfit|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190717102936/https://au.news.yahoo.com/why-people-want-to-storm-the-mysterious-area-51-063710245.html|archive-date=July 17, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://thebaffler.com/latest/close-encounters-robertson|title=Close Encounters|last=Robertson|first=Jesse|date=February 23, 2023|website=[[The Baffler]]|access-date=June 14, 2024}}</ref> or "self-described".<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/inexplicable-moments-175793238/|title=Inexplicable Moments|last=Webster|first=Donovan|author-link=Donovan Webster|date=January 2000|magazine=[[Smithsonian (magazine)|Smithsonian]]|access-date=May 25, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-06-04-me-9247-story.html|title=On the Road to Nowhere|last=Graham|first=Patrick|date=June 4, 1995|website=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=May 25, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/alien-visitors-restore-ghost-town-s-spirits-1344789.html|title=Alien visitors restore ghost town's spirits|last=Cornwell|first=Tim|date=March 30, 1996|website=[[The Independent]]|access-date=May 25, 2022|url-status=unfit|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220525012554/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/alien-visitors-restore-ghost-town-s-spirits-1344789.html|archive-date=May 25, 2022}}</ref>}}

Lazar claims to be a [[physicist]] and to have worked in this capacity during his tenure at the Los Alamos Meson Physics Facility.<ref name=reaima/><ref name="KLAS interview">{{Cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UjqFaQq_7I|title=Lazar describes alien technology housed at secret S-4 base in Nevada -- Part 5|date=2019-11-08|last=Knapp|first=George|type=|language=|publisher=[[KLAS-TV]]/8 News NOW Las Vegas|author-link=George Knapp (television journalist)|time=4:38 - 7:25|time-caption=Section|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201118192025/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UjqFaQq_7I|archive-date=November 18, 2020|access-date=2020-11-18|url-status=live}}</ref> This assertion was echoed by local journalist Terry England, who interviewed Lazar about his interest in [[Jet car|jet-powered cars]] in 1982;{{efn|This was a story by ''Los Alamos Monitor'' journalist Terry England, which circulated regionally via the [[Associated Press]].<ref>{{cite news|first=Terry|last=England|title=LA man joins the jet set – at 200 miles an hour|work=Los Alamos Monitor|date=June 27, 1982|pages=A1 & A8|quote=[Bob] Lazar, a physicist at the Los Alamos Meson Physics Facility...}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=England|first=Terry|date=July 30, 1982|title='Jet' isn't an idle boast on this car|page=A-6|work=[[The Santa Fe New Mexican]]|agency=[[Associated Press]]|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/44147720/jet-isnt-an-idle-boast-on-this-car/|access-date=November 22, 2020|via=newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=July 26, 1982|title=This is a real hot rod|page=8|work=[[Alamogordo Daily News]]|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/alamogordo-daily-news-jul-26-1982-p-8/|access-date=February 13, 2020|via=NewspaperArchive.com}}</ref>|group=a}} some media outlets have since dubbed him a "physicist".{{efn|See: <ref name="Newsroom21">{{Cite episode|title=What Sparked the Government's Interest in UFOs|url=http://edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/2106/05/cnr.07.html|access-date=June 7, 2022|series=CNN Newsroom|series-link=CNN Newsroom|network=[[CNN]]|date=June 5, 2021}}</ref><ref name="DS19">{{cite web|url=https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/a28443500/bob-lazar-area-51-netflix-flying-saucers/|title=Area 51 details left out of Netflix's Bob Lazar documentary|last=Seddon|first=Dan|date=July 19, 2019|website=[[Digital Spy]]|access-date=June 7, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1994/09/08/Model-based-on-UFO-witness-description/3157778996800/|title=Model based on UFO witness description|date=September 8, 1994|website=[[United Press International|UPI]]|access-date=June 11, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Peterson|first=Todd|date=November 7, 2013|title=Time Out: Las Vegas|edition=8th|publisher=[[Time Out Group]]|pages=266–267|isbn=978-1-84670-398-0|quote=Physicist Bob Lazar...}}</ref>|group=a}} Asked about the article in 2021, however, England admitted that he took Lazar's claims at face value and did not [[Fact-checking|fact-check]] his credentials as a physicist.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://medium.com/@signalsintelligence/bob-lazar-theres-more-to-the-story-17829c2ff650|title=Bob Lazar: There's More to the Story|author=SignalsIntelligence|date=February 22, 2022|website=[[Medium (website)|Medium]]|access-date=June 18, 2024}}</ref> Inquiry into Lazar's position at Los Alamos revealed his role to have been a technician for a contractor firm, and that he worked neither as a physicist or for the lab directly.<ref name=reaima/><ref name="ProtheroCallahan2017"/><ref name="Goldwag"/> As such, the facility retains no records on Lazar, whom Prothero states was "in short, rather a minor player."<ref name="ProtheroCallahan2017"/> The [[Smithsonian Institution|Smithsonian]], along with various other mainstream news outlets, have stated that his designation as a "physicist" is [[self-proclaimed]].{{efn|The [[Smithsonian Institution|Smithsonian]], and various mainstream outlets, have noted Lazar's "physicist" designation as either "self-proclaimed"<ref name="Nelson">{{cite web|url=https://inews.co.uk/news/science/area-51-what-aliens-conspiracy-theories-storm-raid-event-facebook-memes-latest-news-314042|title=What is Area 51? Alien conspiracy theories and history of Nevada site as Storm Area 51 Facebook event passes 1 million attendees|last=Nelson|first=Alex|date=July 16, 2019|website=[[i (newspaper)|iNews]]|access-date=May 11, 2022}}</ref><ref name="Bedo">{{cite web|url=https://www.news.com.au/technology/science/space/everything-you-need-to-know-about-area-51/news-story/5a8adfff2c01f2695a8e16f5217dc1f4|title=Everything you need to know about Area 51|last=Bedo|first=Stephanie|date=July 19, 2019|publisher=[[news.com.au]]|access-date=May 11, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/98/08/09/reviews/980809.09vince.html|title=Alien Nation|last=Vincent|first=Glyn|date=August 9, 1998|website=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=May 25, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://au.news.yahoo.com/why-people-want-to-storm-the-mysterious-area-51-063710245.html|title='Let's see them aliens': Inside the mysterious Area 51 and why people want to storm the secret base|last=Lambert|first=Olivia|date=July 17, 2019|website=[[Yahoo! News]]|access-date=May 25, 2022|url-status=unfit|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190717102936/https://au.news.yahoo.com/why-people-want-to-storm-the-mysterious-area-51-063710245.html|archive-date=July 17, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://thebaffler.com/latest/close-encounters-robertson|title=Close Encounters|last=Robertson|first=Jesse|date=February 23, 2023|website=[[The Baffler]]|access-date=June 14, 2024}}</ref> or "self-described".<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/inexplicable-moments-175793238/|title=Inexplicable Moments|last=Webster|first=Donovan|author-link=Donovan Webster|date=January 2000|magazine=[[Smithsonian (magazine)|Smithsonian]]|access-date=May 25, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-06-04-me-9247-story.html|title=On the Road to Nowhere|last=Graham|first=Patrick|date=June 4, 1995|website=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=May 25, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/alien-visitors-restore-ghost-town-s-spirits-1344789.html|title=Alien visitors restore ghost town's spirits|last=Cornwell|first=Tim|date=March 30, 1996|website=[[The Independent]]|access-date=May 25, 2022|url-status=unfit|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220525012554/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/alien-visitors-restore-ghost-town-s-spirits-1344789.html|archive-date=May 25, 2022}}</ref>}}

Since 1989, Lazar has achieved public notoriety as an [[Area 51#UFO and other conspiracy theories|Area 51 conspiracy theorist]].{{efn|Sources describing Lazar as a "conspiracy theorist": <ref name="Newsroom21"/><ref name="DS19"/><ref name="Nelson"/><ref name="Bedo"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/investigations/2022/03/16/obama-conspiracy-theorists-flock-secret-presidential-records/7049409001/|title=Conspiracy theorists, UFO hunters among first to flock to Obama's once-secret presidential records|last=Penzenstadler|first=Nick|date=March 16, 2022|website=[[USA Today]]|access-date=May 11, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2020/09/24/bob-lazar-and-ufos-a-reading-and-watching-list.html|title=Bob Lazar and UFOs: a reading (and watching) list|date=September 24, 2020|website=[[Toronto Star]]|access-date=May 11, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.popularmechanics.com/culture/web/a29001318/area-51-raid-canceled/|title=The Area 51 Raid Is Mercifully Canceled|last=Grossman|first=David|date=September 11, 2019|website=[[Popular Mechanics]]|access-date=May 11, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/2465240/interview-dissecting-the-autopsy-and-research-features-in-xcom-enemy-unknown/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220513023757/http://www.mtv.com/news/2465240/interview-dissecting-the-autopsy-and-research-features-in-xcom-enemy-unknown/|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 13, 2022|title=Dissecting the Autopsy and Research Features in 'XCOM: Enemy Unknown'|last=Webb|first=Charles|date=August 29, 2012|website=[[MTV News]]|access-date=May 11, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=[[Ronald H. Fritze]]|title=Hope and Fear: Modern Myths, Conspiracy Theories, and Pseudo-History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BGRcEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT15|date=April 18, 2022|publisher=Reaktion Books|isbn=978-1-7891-4540-3|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512195506/https://books.google.com/books?id=BGRcEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT15|archive-date=May 12, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=[[Lee Mellor]]|title=Conspiracies Uncovered: Cover-ups, Hoaxes and Secret Societies|date=February 4, 2021|publisher=Dorling Kindersley|isbn=978-0-2415-1899-1|pages=90– (insert)|quote=Conspiracy theorist Bob Lazar...}}</ref><br>Publications on conspiracy theories that detail Lazar's claims: <ref>{{cite book|author1=James McConnachie|author2=Robin Tudge|title=Rough Guide to Conspiracy Theories, The (3rd)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0A3c_ZD0KycC&pg=PA296|date=February 1, 2013|publisher=Rough Guides Limited|isbn=978-1-4093-2454-6|pages=296–}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=Christopher Hodapp|author2=Alice Von Kannon|title=Conspiracy Theories and Secret Societies For Dummies|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4htx62wIXIgC&pg=PA126|date=February 4, 2011|publisher=[[John Wiley & Sons]]|isbn=978-1-118-05202-0|pages=126–}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Barna William Donovan|title=Conspiracy Films: A Tour of Dark Places in the American Conscious|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bJkhqU1IXHAC&pg=PA150|date=January 10, 2014|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0-7864-8615-1|pages=150–}}</ref>}} In May of that year, he appeared in an interview with investigative reporter [[George Knapp (journalist)|George Knapp]] on [[Las Vegas, Nevada|Las Vegas]] TV station [[KLAS-TV|KLAS]], under the pseudonym "Dennis" and with his face hidden, to discuss his purported employment at "S-4", a subsidiary facility he claimed exists near the [[Nellis Air Force Base]] installation known as Area 51. He claims that the said facility was adjacent to [[Papoose Lake]], which is located south of the main Area 51 facility at [[Groom Lake]]. He claimed the site consisted of concealed aircraft hangars built into a mountainside. Lazar said that his job was to help with the [[reverse engineering]] of one of nine [[flying saucer]]s, which he alleged were extraterrestrial in origin. He claims one of the flying saucers, the one he coined the "Sport Model", was manufactured out of a metallic substance similar in appearance and touch to liquid titanium. In a subsequent interview that November, Lazar appeared unmasked and under his own name, where he claimed that his job interview for work at the facility was with contractor [[EG&G]] and that his employer was the [[United States Navy]]. EG&G stated it had no records on him.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://knpr.org/desert-companion/2014-11/out-there |title=Out there |author=George Knapp |author-link=George Knapp (journalist) |work=[[KNPR]] |date=November 1, 2014}}</ref>{{efn|According to spotlight by [[KLAS-TV]]:

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-Lazar claims to be a [[physicist]] and to have worked in this capacity during his tenure at the Los Alamos Meson Physics Facility.<ref name=reaima/><ref name="KLAS interview">{{Cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UjqFaQq_7I|title=Lazar describes alien technology housed at secret S-4 base in Nevada -- Part 5|date=2019-11-08|last=Knapp|first=George|type=|language=|publisher=[[KLAS-TV]]/8 News NOW Las Vegas|author-link=George Knapp (television journalist)|time=4:38 - 7:25|time-caption=Section|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201118192025/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UjqFaQq_7I|archive-date=November 18, 2020|access-date=2020-11-18|url-status=live}}</ref> This assertion was echoed by local journalist Terry England, who interviewed Lazar about his interest in [[Jet car|jet-powered cars]] in 1982;{{efn|This was a story by ''Los Alamos Monitor'' journalist Terry England, which circulated regionally via the [[Associated Press]].<ref>{{cite news|first=Terry|last=England|title=LA man joins the jet set – at 200 miles an hour|work=Los Alamos Monitor|date=June 27, 1982|pages=A1 & A8|quote=[Bob] Lazar, a physicist at the Los Alamos Meson Physics Facility...}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=England|first=Terry|date=July 30, 1982|title='Jet' isn't an idle boast on this car|page=A-6|work=[[The Santa Fe New Mexican]]|agency=[[Associated Press]]|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/44147720/jet-isnt-an-idle-boast-on-this-car/|access-date=November 22, 2020|via=newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=July 26, 1982|title=This is a real hot rod|page=8|work=[[Alamogordo Daily News]]|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/alamogordo-daily-news-jul-26-1982-p-8/|access-date=February 13, 2020|via=NewspaperArchive.com}}</ref>}} some media outlets have since dubbed him a "physicist".{{efn|See: <ref name="Newsroom21">{{Cite episode|title=What Sparked the Government's Interest in UFOs|url=http://edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/2106/05/cnr.07.html|access-date=June 7, 2022|series=CNN Newsroom|series-link=CNN Newsroom|network=[[CNN]]|date=June 5, 2021}}</ref><ref name="DS19">{{cite web|url=https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/a28443500/bob-lazar-area-51-netflix-flying-saucers/|title=Area 51 details left out of Netflix's Bob Lazar documentary|last=Seddon|first=Dan|date=July 19, 2019|website=[[Digital Spy]]|access-date=June 7, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1994/09/08/Model-based-on-UFO-witness-description/3157778996800/|title=Model based on UFO witness description|date=September 8, 1994|website=[[United Press International|UPI]]|access-date=June 11, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Peterson|first=Todd|date=November 7, 2013|title=Time Out: Las Vegas|edition=8th|publisher=[[Time Out Group]]|pages=266–267|isbn=978-1-84670-398-0|quote=Physicist Bob Lazar...}}</ref>}} Asked about the article in 2021, however, England admitted that he took Lazar's claims at face value and did not [[Fact-checking|fact-check]] his credentials as a physicist.<!--WHILE MEDIUM.COM IS CONSIDERED "GENERALLY" UNRELIABLE, THIS ARTICLE INTERVIEWS ENGLAND DIRECTLY.--><ref>{{cite web|url=https://medium.com/@signalsintelligence/bob-lazar-theres-more-to-the-story-17829c2ff650|title=Bob Lazar: There's More to the Story|author=SignalsIntelligence|date=February 22, 2022|website=[[Medium (website)|Medium]]|access-date=June 18, 2024}}</ref> Inquiry into Lazar's position at Los Alamos revealed his role to have been a technician for a contractor firm, and that he worked neither as a physicist or for the lab directly.<ref name=reaima/><ref name="ProtheroCallahan2017"/><ref name="Goldwag"/> As such, the facility retains no records on Lazar, whom Prothero states was "in short, rather a minor player."<ref name="ProtheroCallahan2017"/> The [[Smithsonian Institution|Smithsonian]], along with various other mainstream news outlets, have stated that his designation as a "physicist" is [[self-proclaimed]].{{efn|The [[Smithsonian Institution|Smithsonian]], and various mainstream outlets, have noted Lazar's "physicist" designation as either "self-proclaimed"<ref name="Nelson">{{cite web|url=https://inews.co.uk/news/science/area-51-what-aliens-conspiracy-theories-storm-raid-event-facebook-memes-latest-news-314042|title=What is Area 51? Alien conspiracy theories and history of Nevada site as Storm Area 51 Facebook event passes 1 million attendees|last=Nelson|first=Alex|date=July 16, 2019|website=[[i (newspaper)|iNews]]|access-date=May 11, 2022}}</ref><ref name="Bedo">{{cite web|url=https://www.news.com.au/technology/science/space/everything-you-need-to-know-about-area-51/news-story/5a8adfff2c01f2695a8e16f5217dc1f4|title=Everything you need to know about Area 51|last=Bedo|first=Stephanie|date=July 19, 2019|publisher=[[news.com.au]]|access-date=May 11, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/98/08/09/reviews/980809.09vince.html|title=Alien Nation|last=Vincent|first=Glyn|date=August 9, 1998|website=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=May 25, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://au.news.yahoo.com/why-people-want-to-storm-the-mysterious-area-51-063710245.html|title='Let's see them aliens': Inside the mysterious Area 51 and why people want to storm the secret base|last=Lambert|first=Olivia|date=July 17, 2019|website=[[Yahoo! News]]|access-date=May 25, 2022|url-status=unfit|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190717102936/https://au.news.yahoo.com/why-people-want-to-storm-the-mysterious-area-51-063710245.html|archive-date=July 17, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://thebaffler.com/latest/close-encounters-robertson|title=Close Encounters|last=Robertson|first=Jesse|date=February 23, 2023|website=[[The Baffler]]|access-date=June 14, 2024}}</ref> or "self-described".<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/inexplicable-moments-175793238/|title=Inexplicable Moments|last=Webster|first=Donovan|author-link=Donovan Webster|date=January 2000|magazine=[[Smithsonian (magazine)|Smithsonian]]|access-date=May 25, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-06-04-me-9247-story.html|title=On the Road to Nowhere|last=Graham|first=Patrick|date=June 4, 1995|website=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=May 25, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/alien-visitors-restore-ghost-town-s-spirits-1344789.html|title=Alien visitors restore ghost town's spirits|last=Cornwell|first=Tim|date=March 30, 1996|website=[[The Independent]]|access-date=May 25, 2022|url-status=unfit|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220525012554/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/alien-visitors-restore-ghost-town-s-spirits-1344789.html|archive-date=May 25, 2022}}</ref>}}
+Lazar claims to be a [[physicist]] and to have worked in this capacity during his tenure at the Los Alamos Meson Physics Facility.<ref name=reaima/><ref name="KLAS interview">{{Cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UjqFaQq_7I|title=Lazar describes alien technology housed at secret S-4 base in Nevada -- Part 5|date=2019-11-08|last=Knapp|first=George|type=|language=|publisher=[[KLAS-TV]]/8 News NOW Las Vegas|author-link=George Knapp (television journalist)|time=4:38 - 7:25|time-caption=Section|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201118192025/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UjqFaQq_7I|archive-date=November 18, 2020|access-date=2020-11-18|url-status=live}}</ref> This assertion was echoed by local journalist Terry England, who interviewed Lazar about his interest in [[Jet car|jet-powered cars]] in 1982;{{efn|This was a story by ''Los Alamos Monitor'' journalist Terry England, which circulated regionally via the [[Associated Press]].<ref>{{cite news|first=Terry|last=England|title=LA man joins the jet set – at 200 miles an hour|work=Los Alamos Monitor|date=June 27, 1982|pages=A1 & A8|quote=[Bob] Lazar, a physicist at the Los Alamos Meson Physics Facility...}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=England|first=Terry|date=July 30, 1982|title='Jet' isn't an idle boast on this car|page=A-6|work=[[The Santa Fe New Mexican]]|agency=[[Associated Press]]|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/44147720/jet-isnt-an-idle-boast-on-this-car/|access-date=November 22, 2020|via=newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=July 26, 1982|title=This is a real hot rod|page=8|work=[[Alamogordo Daily News]]|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/alamogordo-daily-news-jul-26-1982-p-8/|access-date=February 13, 2020|via=NewspaperArchive.com}}</ref>|group=a}} some media outlets have since dubbed him a "physicist".{{efn|See: <ref name="Newsroom21">{{Cite episode|title=What Sparked the Government's Interest in UFOs|url=http://edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/2106/05/cnr.07.html|access-date=June 7, 2022|series=CNN Newsroom|series-link=CNN Newsroom|network=[[CNN]]|date=June 5, 2021}}</ref><ref name="DS19">{{cite web|url=https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/a28443500/bob-lazar-area-51-netflix-flying-saucers/|title=Area 51 details left out of Netflix's Bob Lazar documentary|last=Seddon|first=Dan|date=July 19, 2019|website=[[Digital Spy]]|access-date=June 7, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1994/09/08/Model-based-on-UFO-witness-description/3157778996800/|title=Model based on UFO witness description|date=September 8, 1994|website=[[United Press International|UPI]]|access-date=June 11, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Peterson|first=Todd|date=November 7, 2013|title=Time Out: Las Vegas|edition=8th|publisher=[[Time Out Group]]|pages=266–267|isbn=978-1-84670-398-0|quote=Physicist Bob Lazar...}}</ref>|group=a}} Asked about the article in 2021, however, England admitted that he took Lazar's claims at face value and did not [[Fact-checking|fact-check]] his credentials as a physicist.<!--WHILE MEDIUM.COM IS CONSIDERED "GENERALLY" UNRELIABLE, THIS ARTICLE INTERVIEWS ENGLAND DIRECTLY.--><ref>{{cite web|url=https://medium.com/@signalsintelligence/bob-lazar-theres-more-to-the-story-17829c2ff650|title=Bob Lazar: There's More to the Story|author=SignalsIntelligence|date=February 22, 2022|website=[[Medium (website)|Medium]]|access-date=June 18, 2024}}</ref> Inquiry into Lazar's position at Los Alamos revealed his role to have been a technician for a contractor firm, and that he worked neither as a physicist or for the lab directly.<ref name=reaima/><ref name="ProtheroCallahan2017"/><ref name="Goldwag"/> As such, the facility retains no records on Lazar, whom Prothero states was "in short, rather a minor player."<ref name="ProtheroCallahan2017"/> The [[Smithsonian Institution|Smithsonian]], along with various other mainstream news outlets, have stated that his designation as a "physicist" is [[self-proclaimed]].{{efn|The [[Smithsonian Institution|Smithsonian]], and various mainstream outlets, have noted Lazar's "physicist" designation as either "self-proclaimed"<ref name="Nelson">{{cite web|url=https://inews.co.uk/news/science/area-51-what-aliens-conspiracy-theories-storm-raid-event-facebook-memes-latest-news-314042|title=What is Area 51? Alien conspiracy theories and history of Nevada site as Storm Area 51 Facebook event passes 1 million attendees|last=Nelson|first=Alex|date=July 16, 2019|website=[[i (newspaper)|iNews]]|access-date=May 11, 2022}}</ref><ref name="Bedo">{{cite web|url=https://www.news.com.au/technology/science/space/everything-you-need-to-know-about-area-51/news-story/5a8adfff2c01f2695a8e16f5217dc1f4|title=Everything you need to know about Area 51|last=Bedo|first=Stephanie|date=July 19, 2019|publisher=[[news.com.au]]|access-date=May 11, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/98/08/09/reviews/980809.09vince.html|title=Alien Nation|last=Vincent|first=Glyn|date=August 9, 1998|website=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=May 25, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://au.news.yahoo.com/why-people-want-to-storm-the-mysterious-area-51-063710245.html|title='Let's see them aliens': Inside the mysterious Area 51 and why people want to storm the secret base|last=Lambert|first=Olivia|date=July 17, 2019|website=[[Yahoo! News]]|access-date=May 25, 2022|url-status=unfit|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190717102936/https://au.news.yahoo.com/why-people-want-to-storm-the-mysterious-area-51-063710245.html|archive-date=July 17, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://thebaffler.com/latest/close-encounters-robertson|title=Close Encounters|last=Robertson|first=Jesse|date=February 23, 2023|website=[[The Baffler]]|access-date=June 14, 2024}}</ref> or "self-described".<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/inexplicable-moments-175793238/|title=Inexplicable Moments|last=Webster|first=Donovan|author-link=Donovan Webster|date=January 2000|magazine=[[Smithsonian (magazine)|Smithsonian]]|access-date=May 25, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-06-04-me-9247-story.html|title=On the Road to Nowhere|last=Graham|first=Patrick|date=June 4, 1995|website=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=May 25, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/alien-visitors-restore-ghost-town-s-spirits-1344789.html|title=Alien visitors restore ghost town's spirits|last=Cornwell|first=Tim|date=March 30, 1996|website=[[The Independent]]|access-date=May 25, 2022|url-status=unfit|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220525012554/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/alien-visitors-restore-ghost-town-s-spirits-1344789.html|archive-date=May 25, 2022}}</ref>}}
 Since 1989, Lazar has achieved public notoriety as an [[Area 51#UFO and other conspiracy theories|Area 51 conspiracy theorist]].{{efn|Sources describing Lazar as a "conspiracy theorist": <ref name="Newsroom21"/><ref name="DS19"/><ref name="Nelson"/><ref name="Bedo"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/investigations/2022/03/16/obama-conspiracy-theorists-flock-secret-presidential-records/7049409001/|title=Conspiracy theorists, UFO hunters among first to flock to Obama's once-secret presidential records|last=Penzenstadler|first=Nick|date=March 16, 2022|website=[[USA Today]]|access-date=May 11, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2020/09/24/bob-lazar-and-ufos-a-reading-and-watching-list.html|title=Bob Lazar and UFOs: a reading (and watching) list|date=September 24, 2020|website=[[Toronto Star]]|access-date=May 11, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.popularmechanics.com/culture/web/a29001318/area-51-raid-canceled/|title=The Area 51 Raid Is Mercifully Canceled|last=Grossman|first=David|date=September 11, 2019|website=[[Popular Mechanics]]|access-date=May 11, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/2465240/interview-dissecting-the-autopsy-and-research-features-in-xcom-enemy-unknown/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220513023757/http://www.mtv.com/news/2465240/interview-dissecting-the-autopsy-and-research-features-in-xcom-enemy-unknown/|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 13, 2022|title=Dissecting the Autopsy and Research Features in 'XCOM: Enemy Unknown'|last=Webb|first=Charles|date=August 29, 2012|website=[[MTV News]]|access-date=May 11, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=[[Ronald H. Fritze]]|title=Hope and Fear: Modern Myths, Conspiracy Theories, and Pseudo-History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BGRcEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT15|date=April 18, 2022|publisher=Reaktion Books|isbn=978-1-7891-4540-3|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512195506/https://books.google.com/books?id=BGRcEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT15|archive-date=May 12, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=[[Lee Mellor]]|title=Conspiracies Uncovered: Cover-ups, Hoaxes and Secret Societies|date=February 4, 2021|publisher=Dorling Kindersley|isbn=978-0-2415-1899-1|pages=90– (insert)|quote=Conspiracy theorist Bob Lazar...}}</ref><br>Publications on conspiracy theories that detail Lazar's claims: <ref>{{cite book|author1=James McConnachie|author2=Robin Tudge|title=Rough Guide to Conspiracy Theories, The (3rd)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0A3c_ZD0KycC&pg=PA296|date=February 1, 2013|publisher=Rough Guides Limited|isbn=978-1-4093-2454-6|pages=296–}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=Christopher Hodapp|author2=Alice Von Kannon|title=Conspiracy Theories and Secret Societies For Dummies|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4htx62wIXIgC&pg=PA126|date=February 4, 2011|publisher=[[John Wiley & Sons]]|isbn=978-1-118-05202-0|pages=126–}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Barna William Donovan|title=Conspiracy Films: A Tour of Dark Places in the American Conscious|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bJkhqU1IXHAC&pg=PA150|date=January 10, 2014|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0-7864-8615-1|pages=150–}}</ref>}} In May of that year, he appeared in an interview with investigative reporter [[George Knapp (journalist)|George Knapp]] on [[Las Vegas, Nevada|Las Vegas]] TV station [[KLAS-TV|KLAS]], under the pseudonym "Dennis" and with his face hidden, to discuss his purported employment at "S-4", a subsidiary facility he claimed exists near the [[Nellis Air Force Base]] installation known as Area 51. He claims that the said facility was adjacent to [[Papoose Lake]], which is located south of the main Area 51 facility at [[Groom Lake]]. He claimed the site consisted of concealed aircraft hangars built into a mountainside. Lazar said that his job was to help with the [[reverse engineering]] of one of nine [[flying saucer]]s, which he alleged were extraterrestrial in origin. He claims one of the flying saucers, the one he coined the "Sport Model", was manufactured out of a metallic substance similar in appearance and touch to liquid titanium. In a subsequent interview that November, Lazar appeared unmasked and under his own name, where he claimed that his job interview for work at the facility was with contractor [[EG&G]] and that his employer was the [[United States Navy]]. EG&G stated it had no records on him.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://knpr.org/desert-companion/2014-11/out-there |title=Out there |author=George Knapp |author-link=George Knapp (journalist) |work=[[KNPR]] |date=November 1, 2014}}</ref>{{efn|According to spotlight by [[KLAS-TV]]: