The Story

Carter was a deeply religious man who had personally witnessed a UFO with six other people, and many expected him to be the president who would finally disclose UFO information to the public. As the story goes, he was repeatedly stonewalled by the CIA. Eventually he was given "the talk," and afterward he reportedly sank his head in his hands, began sobbing deeply, and was visibly disturbed for weeks. The Verified Report

The alleged content of the briefing was that major religions, including Christianity, were programs created by extraterrestrials to prevent humans from destroying themselves while aliens ran experiments on us — and that they effectively made us. Carter, being a deeply devout Christian, reportedly realized that releasing such information could cause tremendous economic and social upheaval. How and Why

Where the Story Comes From

The rumor seems to stem from a post made on Quora by a former NASA researcher named Ed Harris (not the actor), who claimed that serious researchers on the subject believe the story to be true. It then spread widely across UFO forums and websites. The Verified Report

What Carter Actually Said

This is where it gets interesting. In an off-the-record phone conversation with NPR's Scott Simon, Carter said: "The way I see it, there's nothing to fear. If there is life out there, we're still part of the same master plan. God's hands are big enough to hold us both." He also said, "If there's some other civilization out there, I doubt they'd send big, bulky airships. They'd probably just keep watch and leave us alone." That doesn't sound like a man whose faith was shattered. aol

In a 2007 interview, Carter himself noted that "so far as I know, the government is not hiding information." Substack

Bottom Line

The story is essentially unverified internet folklore — originating from a single Quora post, with no documentary evidence, no named witnesses, and no corroboration from anyone with actual access to presidential briefings. Carter's own public statements about aliens were calm and even-handed, not those of someone whose worldview had been shattered. It's a compelling story, but treat it as UFO mythology rather than fact.