(Image source: FreeDigitalPhotos / Simon Howden)

BY: STEVEN SPARKMAN

You're watching multisource video news analysis from Newsy. 

If this had been on purpose, it would have made a great April Fools prank. A report circulated through the media this week -- suggesting aliens might attack humanity because of global warming.

The Guardian broke the story.

“Watching from afar, extraterrestrial beings might view changes in Earth's atmosphere as symptomatic of a civilisation growing out of control -- and take drastic action to keep us from becoming a more serious threat...”

The Guardian originally credited NASA with the report -- a point the hosts of Fox and Friends repeatedly stressed.

BRIAN KILMEADE: “But what will the other people do to Earth if we don’t take care of Earth? That’s the bigger question at Penn State amongst NASA scientists and their colleagues.”
DAVE BRIGGS: “And again, these are scientists affiliated... loosely affiliated with NASA who came up with different scenarios for what if we had contact with aliens...”

The report’s authors said the best way to avoid a run-in with eco-aliens is to reduce our own greenhouse gas emissions. The report caused a stir among conservative bloggers, who used the far-fetched sounding scenario to attack both NASA and climate change.

From Stop the ACLU:

“Good news! This is what your tax dollars are going to!”

From Hot Air:

“...I submit that the globaloney-meisters are clutching the bottom of the galactic straws.”

And from COMMENTARY:

“Now that Americans are becoming increasingly skeptical of the anthropogenic global warming theory, climate scientists have been forced to get even more creative with their climate change alarmism. … Yes, this was written in a taxpayer-funded study.”

Other writers defended the study and NASA -- despite the out-there claims. Like a writer for Asylum who says:

“It sounds a bit far-fetched, sure, but when news like this comes from Nasa, we tend to sit up and pay attention a bit more than if it had been scribbled on the back of a beermat and handed to us on the street by a bearded tramp.”

The problem with all of these reactions? This wasn’t a NASA study, nor did it focus on global warming. The report was just a brainstorming session among a group of friends. One of the authors explains on his blog:

“Yes, I work at NASA. … But I am not a civil servant… just a lowly postdoc. More importantly, this paper has nothing to do with my work there. I wasn’t funded for it, nor did I spend any of my time at work or any resources provided to me by NASA to participate in this effort.”

He goes on to say the authors just wanted to review all alien-encounter scenarios that have been dreamed up -- no matter how unlikely. A blogger for the Houston Chronicle says it’s a shame the story is now stuck to NASA’s reputation.

“...this is what it is. A non-story. It’s some geeks putting down some reasoned thoughts about what aliens might do if they exist and stop to observe Earth and its inhabitants. It should not diminish the credibility of NASA but alas in some peoples’ eyes it will.”

If this whole scenario sounds a little familiar, you might be thinking of a story from March when a scientist made some impressive claims about alien life -- only to have his NASA affiliation tied to the report.

Transcript by Newsy.