By Tim Binnall
A UFO research organization in Italy has egg on their faces after falling victim to a rather well-crafted hoax. The unfortunate turn of events reportedly began earlier this month when a video appeared online purportedly showing a triangular, cloud-like object seemingly soaring through the sky around an iconic mountain top in the Italian Alps known as Pizzo Scalino. The fantastic nature of the footage led to the video quickly going viral in the country.
It also apparently caught the attention of a group called the Italian Ufological Federation, who weighed in on the veracity of the video with a surprisingly strong statement. "From the analysis carried out," the organization declared, "there is no type of digital manipulation. The video appears coherent in all its aspects and is, therefore, to be considered reliable and genuine." Although the group did not specifically state what kind of investigatory work went into their conclusion, the definitive nature of their response would seem to suggest it was fairly rigorous.
Alas, it would appear that was not the case as, earlier this week, the organizers of a race to be held near the Pizzo Scalino this coming summer stepped forward to boast that they had acquired the 'original movie' and that it actually contained three UFOs. In the video, which you can see below, the triangular 'craft' is accompanied by two other 'UFOs' shaped like a 'U' and a 'T.' After swirling around the summit for a brief moment, the three 'objects' come together in the sky to spell 'VUT,' as in 'Valmalenco Ultradistance Trail,' which is the name of the forthcoming event, revealing that the scene had simply been a computer-generated hoax aimed at garnering publicity for the race.