Person
Joel Schectman
Wall Street Journal journalist; investigation of “Yankee Blue” (2025)
2025– · Media · Journalist
A Wall Street Journal journalist, on June 6, 2025 he co-authored with Aruna Viswanatha the investigation into Pentagon disinformation and the fake alien program “Yankee Blue” shown for decades to some Air Force officers. The second installment (June 21, 2025) reports, among other things, that Elizondo told AARO he had kept evidence in a drawer of his old office, where the FBI found nothing of the kind.
- Controversies
- Elizondo, Mellon, Coulthart, Luna and other disclosure advocates disputed the investigation; subsequent FOIA requests did not find the 2023 memo that reportedly stopped the practice.
- Today
- In September 2026 the Disclosure Foundation chaired by Mellon asked the WSJ to correct the articles and the National Press Club to revoke the award given to the first one.
Documented authority
It measures how documented and verifiable what the person claims is, not their honesty. Each criterion is scored from 0 to 2.
- Credentials 2/2
- The bylined articles in the Wall Street Journal are documented.
- Direct access not applicable
- Not applicable: does not claim direct knowledge of the facts; reports sources or documents.
- Evidence provided 1/2
- The investigation reports AARO findings and the DoD confirmed the “pranks,” but FOIA requests did not find the memo cited.
- Claims track record not applicable
- The sources consulted do not trace the outcome of any verifiable claims made by this person.
- Conflicts of interest not applicable
- The sources consulted do not document financial interests tied to the topic.
Sources
- Wall Street Journal (Schectman and Viswanatha), June 6, 2025: Pentagon disinformation (press)
- Wall Street Journal, June 21, 2025: second installment of the investigation (press)
- The Black Vault, September 16, 2025: the Pentagon cannot find the memo on “Yankee Blue” (analysis)
- Wikipedia – Yankee Blue (other)
On this site
Where the claims come from 1
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UAPgrade's entries are compiled with artificial intelligence (three verifiers with opposing roles) and checked against the sources listed above: how we work. Have a document that changes this entry? Bring it to the Investigations Unit.