Republican appears to share image of Batman balloon claiming it's a UFO

A Republican Congresswoman has shared an image of what appears to be a Batman balloon, claiming that it is an unidentified flying object, ahead of a debate on UFOs in Washington next week.

Anna Paulina Luna tweeted about the material she has gathered for the House Oversight UFO hearing, consisting of pictures of several alleged sightings.

But a number of Twitter users questioned the credibility of one of the images that shows an object in the air shaped like Batman’s face, leading to speculation that officials have confused a party balloon for a UFO.

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“The military ‘leaked’ a photo of a Batman party balloon and claimed it was a UFO. That seriously made me doubt their ability to analyze anything,” said one person.

Another said: “My father was a pilot for 20 years, they make mistakes all the time. I just showed you a picture of when a fighter pilot confused a Batman party balloon for a UFO that had no signs of propulsion.”

But, one user who believes it is a UFO, said: “I think there is a massive difference between a hot air balloon and a Batman balloon you buy at Dollar Tree for $4.99 and I am pretty sure you know that! Pilots are not mistaking a Batman balloon as a UFO & the balloon ain’t making it to 25-30 thousand feet”

“The pic with a blue background near the center is definitely a UFO and not just a party balloon,” argued another.

The debate around UFOs is gaining pace in the US. The House Oversight Committee will hold a hearing on the issue next week after Republican congressmen and women promised to look deeper into the issue.

It comes after unconfirmed claims from a former intelligence official that the US military had found crashed alien spacecraft. The Pentagon has said it hasn't discovered any information to substantiate this claim.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was asked on Monday if he believes in aliens, in light of the hearing.

"I will continue to see," McCarthy said. "But I think if we had found a UFO, I think the Department of Defense would tell us because they would probably want to request more money."

"I'd love to see whatever facts and information we have," McCarthy added. "I'm very supportive of letting the American people see what we have, where we go."

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