Facing Scrutiny From Legit News, Secureteam 10 Flees
At the end of July, 2018 I received the following email out of the blue:
Hey! I'm Austin Weinstein, a tech reporter at Bloomberg News. I've been chatting a bit with some folks in the UFO spotting commmunity, and Tyler of Secureteam comes up a lot. I know that some people are very vocal that he's not the most positive force for the community -- I was hoping to chat with you about his influence and role. Do you think you'd have some time to chat with me soon?
I'm accustomed to getting email intended for Tyler Glockner, producer of the UFO hoax YouTube channel Secureteam 10. I have no idea how that happens, but it's usually a Secureteam fan asking a question. This time, however, it was a legit news outlet asking *about* Tyler.
In subsequent weeks we emailed back and forth, and I learned he was working on an episode for the Bloomberg News-produced podcast Decrypted. The new season focused on the unintended consequences of technology, and UFO hoaxes, a form of fake news, certainly fit into that category. We discussed various aspects of hoaxing and how the most ardent defenders of hoaxes, in particular many Secureteam fans, are also diehard conspiracy theorists-- and supporters of Donald Trump.
We finally settled on mid-August to record an interview. I was working overtime hours at CBS Television City, so Austin made the extra effort to hire recordist Chris Olin to visit me at CBS during my lunch break. I found an unused office, and Chris recorded me while Austin interviewed me over the phone.
Naturally we covered far more topics than would ever show up in the final product, including how I've been interested in science fiction and the paranormal since I was a teen, and other debunkers I support and admire like Scott Brando and Captain Disillusion; he found it interesting that Captain D and I have the same visual effects background. Most relevant, however, was my take on Tyler Glockner of Secureteam 10, who I've been tracking since 2014.The episode was scheduled for an early September release, and I wondered: since Secureteam 10 would figure prominently in the episode, why wasn't I asked to respond to anything Tyler had said during his interview? Was he being interviewed after me, and they'd call me for a follow-up?
Once the episode aired, all my questions were answered. Spoiler alert: Secureteam 10 declined to respond to Austin Weinstein's inquiries. He just ignored Bloomberg, the way he blocks all his critics on YouTube and Twitter-- before he was even criticized. While Tyler Glockner loves the publicity he gets from trash tabloids like The Express, The Sun and The Daily Mail, when faced with a legitimate news source he closed the door, drew the curtains and turned out the lights. You suppose he might have something to hide?