Nellis Airforce Base / North Carolina

[jumbobob]

I've tried different searches in the forum but cannot find anything related to this, has this footage ever been discussed on Metabunk?

Seems to be the original video from maybe 2016 (just looking at the video from 4:21- 5:31:

Source: https://youtu.be/o231rrj-CUU?si=qlOzmmzW6TSY3UD4&t=261


Screen grab from the video of the object (it looks terrible, the video is better quality)

 

[jarlrmai]

Are known hoaxers

 

[jumbobob]

Oh wow, from Gemini:
The creators of Thirdphaseofmoon, Blake and Brent Cousins, are trained filmmakers and digital effects artists. Investigative communities on Reddit's r/skeptic and dedicated UAP researchers have documented dozens of instances where the brothers manufactured their own CGI clips, cropped out the watermarks of original animators, or used basic props to simulate alien encounters to generate ad revenue.
I actually apologise for starting this thread...

 

[NorCal Dave]

I actually apologise for starting this thread...

Never. That's the reason to be here, we all learn together. And something you'll learn reading around here is the names of certain UFO people that pop up repeatedly. Of course, the claim is always something like: Just because this guy posted 99 fake videos, that doesn't mean the 100th video isn't real. If it's compelling enough, people here will look into it, but there are just certain players in the UFO world that raise large red flags just by being associated with a claim.

I guess we could have a thread about the "UFO Hall of Shame", but we're supposed to be polite.

 

[FatPhil]

I actually apologise for starting this thread...

Don't sweat it. A search (top left button) for "thirdphaseofmoon" should have found threads containing similar criticism, but we're not 100% consistent with how we refer to them, sometimes they get expanded to "third phase of moon", but sometimes they're contracted to "TPOM" (and, to add confusion, sometimes they've done stuff under the name "third phase of sun", which compounds the possibilities).

 

[John J.]

The guys behind "Third Phase of the Moon" YouTube channel are brothers Blake and Brent Cousins,
"Who are the Cousins Brothers?", UFO Slice website https://ufoslice.com/news/who-are-the-cousins-brothers

They are filmmakers. Both have entries on IMDB,
Blake https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0184078/bio/, Brent https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0184078/?ref_=fn_t_1
I've seen people online say they are CGI artists including on a video posted by the Kahuna Research Group (see below).
The Cousins brothers are familiar with practical special effects,
see "EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH SLAUGHTER DAY FILMMAKERS BLAKE AND BRENT COUSINS", B&S About Movies website, 27 September 2022 https://bandsaboutmovies.com/2022/0...ghter-day-filmmakers-blake-and-brent-cousins/

Some of the videos they've uploaded are pretty silly, including "BOMBSHELL UFO VIDEO!!! ALIEN GREY INSIDE MASSIVE UFO!!!" which supposedly has filming of inside an ET spaceship, and lots of pseudo-justifications of why this couldn't be AI or other fakery.
They're not skilled investigators. Their video "BEST UFO UAP VIDEOS EVER From White House UFOs Surround Russian SUB! 2026" discusses some of the May 2026 DoW released footage; narration from the video

I think this is a submarine, a Russian submarine possibly... the Russian submarine in the Pacific ocean I think...

...it's obviously a submarine. It's an Iranian Fateh class; it doesn't resemble any current Russian submarine. It's extremely unlikely the footage was gathered in the Pacific (why would the narrator say this?), Metabunk thread DOW-UAP-PR067 Multiple Spherical UAP USO near Sub
(Apologies for not providing direct links, those YouTube vids are easily found but I'm reluctant to increase views).

There's a Reddit thread started by user UFOLOGY_SHORTS, "I found more evidence confirming that the recent Tic Tac footage is a CGI hoax made by the Blake Cousins (Thirdphaseofmoon)",

Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/UFOs/comments/t977vf/i_found_more_evidence_confirming_that_the_recent/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
...claiming that the brothers make the videos themselves near their home(s) in Hawaii, and the brothers then claim they have been sent them from people in other, far away locations. There are photos supporting this argument. (A hint of caution, the author refers to the Cousins brothers, Blake and Brent, as "the Blake Cousins", apparently misunderstanding their names).

YouTuber "Sheilaaliens" asked one of the brothers if his videos were fakes, he doesn't directly deny it; video "Sheilaaliens Debunks UFO Hoaxer Blake Cousins Thirdphaseofmoon" uploaded c. 2014 by YouTuber FatHead


Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KtIqUpRpDQ


Kahuna Research Group, "Hawaii's Premier Metaphysical Research Organization and Independent Book Publisher", published a critique of the brothers' UFO videos, "KRG Investigates - Hawaii UFO Hoaxers Thirdphaseofmoon", 19 February 2023 https://www.kahunaresearchgroup.org/case-log/category/thirdphase-debunked including a 2013 video that aimed to

...expose all the lies and hoaxes perpetuated by Thirdphaseofmoon"

I don't know if Kahuna Research Group is still active, but it isn't/ wasn't a sceptical organisation, https://www.kahunaresearchgroup.org/
The group appears to have operated a semi-permanent "ghost tours booth" at Kona Inn Shopping Village, which might seem trivial but it means the group/ some of its members were traceable/ locatable, so if they had stated anything untrue/ actionable about the Cousins they could be found, unlike anonymous commenters online.

Thirdphaseofmoon was involved in "UFO Endgame to Disclosure", which prominently features Dr Steven Greer and other UFO scene notables.
Brent Cousins was Director of Photography (TMDB website https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/1101135-ufo-endgame-to-disclosure/cast), Blake's IMDB page also references the film. The film's trailer has a number of scenes showing UFOs, it isn't made clear which (if any) are supposed to be authentic and which are not (some clearly aren't real; others I feel are presented as real).

Trailer for UFO Endgame to Disclosure uploaded by YouTube user Dr. Steven Greer 2023

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYWB74gZ_Mw

I don't think that Blake and Brent Cousins have been reliable sources of authentic footage of UFOs.

 

[NorCal Dave]

Just for fun:

I'm not sure what's going on in this video, as the audio appears to be something like phone in radio show? Maybe their take on Coast to Coast AM? The accompanying video seems to be a mish-mash of stuff that just looks exciting. At ~3:50 Mark, there is a person in a car that sees a crashed UFO or something. The stop the car and in a panic get out to look. It's all very cinema-verite style and it takes one a moment to realize someone is filming the panicking witness. And then of course it becomes clear, that the panicked witness dashing out of the car, is in fact one of the Cousins twins:

They're acting in their own video.

 

[NorCal Dave]

Sorry, one more comment. I was looking through the video a bit to see if they actually talk about a "Nellis AFB in North Carolina" which doesn't seem to exist. The more well known Nellis AFB is just outside Las Vegas NV as is the nearby Nellis test range and of course Area 51.

Anyway, I skimmed through 7-10 minutes of the this 46 minute long collection of slow taking dullards supposedly on the phone while random unrelated video clips play on the screen. Who in the hell actually sits and watches this shit! If all it takes is crap like this to be a "content creator" I really screwed up in life. Hell I actually have a degree in Communications.

 

[John J.]

I was looking through the video a bit to see if they actually talk about a "Nellis AFB in North Carolina" which doesn't seem to exist.

The Cousens brothers claim the UFO video was sent to them 13 years ago by "Ed" who said it was over North Carolina.
They uploaded it to YouTube 9 years ago (the four year wait isn't explained), but other people have used the clip with incorrect details/ a different soundtrack to the original hoax footage, including the Nellis AFB bit.
The brothers call out a few fellow pro-UFO posters for continuing

...this false narrative of Nellis...

(approx. 7 mins. 11 secs. in, video below) and for not crediting them.

There's quite a lot of mentions of how many views they and other posters are getting, no real discussion about the credibility of the footage.


Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qklJ5zEu1Sg