Snopes.com⁠7%

James Franco posted alleged security footage of an alien. Is it real? ⁠18%

By Anna Rascouët-Paz⁠11%

7/15/2026, 9:00:09 PM

BS Summary: This article contains 23 faulty reasoning types, including Anchoring Bias, Availability Heuristic, and Pessimism Bias, with Framing Effect as the most egregious example at 13% saturation with 93 hits. Analysis detected 812 faulty-reasoning hits from 713 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 33% and a BS Rank of ⁠18% (18,100 of 21,887 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 82.70% of the article peer group.

The claim that actor James Franco shared authentic security footage of an alien on July 13, 2026, is still under investigation. 
Franco posted the video on his TikTok account, which he created in June 2026. 
Internet users speculated that the alien footage was a prank or part of a viral marketing campaign. 
It was unlikely the alien, which resembled extraterrestrials in classic sci-fi movies, was real. 
However, the low resolution of the alleged security footage in Franco's July 13 video made it impossible to determine whether it showed a person in an alien costume or a fake creature generated using artificial intelligence. 
As a result, we have not rated the claim. 
Snopes will update this report if and when additional information surfaces. 
We have reached out to Franco and are waiting for a response. 
In July 2026, a rumor spread that actor James Franco had shared security footage in which an alien appeared outside his home. 
The claim spread on social media, including on Reddit, X and Facebook. 
On X, an account posted a video of Franco showing the footage of the alien on a laptop, saying "James Franco is now officially a Garage Alien Hunter" (archived). 
In the video, Franco showed grainy, black-and-white footage that appeared to be dated May 11, 2026. 
The video included several shots from different angles, most of them outside the house, showing a humanoid alien appearing behind a tree, or at different windows of the house. 
One showed the alleged alien coming out of the house or a cabin. 
People in the comments appeared to think the video was a prank or viral marketing for an upcoming project, while some wondered if Franco believed what he was saying. 
Snopes readers also searched our site for information about whether the video was real. 
While Franco did post the video, there was no way to confirm from the grainy, black-and-white footage whether the alien was a person in a costume, a fake generated using artificial intelligence — or an authentic extraterrestrial, though that did not seem likely. 
For this reason, we left the claim unrated. 
We reached out to the actor asking what the purpose of his video was and we will update this report should he respond. 
Franco faced several allegations of sexually predatory behavior in 2018. 
He later admitted to having sex with five students of his acting school. 
In 2026, Franco had several projects in pre- or post-production, with some completed, according to the Internet Movie Database (IMDb). 
After staying off social media for years, Franco joined TikTok in early June 2026 and began to post cryptic videos, which U.K. tabloid The Daily Mail described as "erratic" and "alarming." 
Some of those videos referenced "7/13," the date on which he posted the alleged alien footage. 
Franco's strange series culminated in the July 13 video in which he stands behind the laptop showing the footage of a supposed alien on black-and-white security cameras (archived): 
"You know what, I can't keep this quiet," the actor says in the video. 
"People said I'm crazy. 
I've been through a lot. 
My account got hacked. 
Twice. 
Twice. 
People trying to shut me down so I don't get this out." 
The actor emphasized the fact that he was releasing this at 7:13 on 7/13 — July 13. 
Running the link to the video though a TikTok date extractor revealed it was posted at 10:13 a.m. 
ET, which is 7:13 a.m. 
PT — Franco lives in the Los Angeles, California, area. 
The caption of the video indicated he would publish more footage "soon." 
On July 15, Franco released another video of himself appearing to lament his followers' reactions to his alleged security footage. 
He stood in a kitchen with a window behind him. 
As he spoke, a creature that looked like a classic sci-fi movie alien appeared in the window (archived): 
The setup of this second video appeared to reinforce the idea that Franco was putting on an elaborate prank, though we could not confirm directly what the point of it was. 
For further reading, Snopes has examined several rumors about aliens and unidentified flying objects, including an alleged video of a UFO taking off from the Amazon rainforest in 1987. 
Article reasoning-pattern comparisonThis article: 6.0%Anna RascouĂ«t-Paz: 3.3%Snopes: 2.4%Confirmation Bias6.0%This article: 10.7%Anna RascouĂ«t-Paz: 0.4%Snopes: 0.8%Anchoring Bias10.7%This article: 10.7%Anna RascouĂ«t-Paz: 2.9%Snopes: 3.4%Availability Heuristic10.7%This article: 6.9%Anna RascouĂ«t-Paz: 2.1%Snopes: 1.3%Representativeness Heuristic6.9%This article: 0.0%Anna RascouĂ«t-Paz: 0.2%Snopes: 0.2%Hindsight Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Anna RascouĂ«t-Paz: 1.1%Snopes: 1.2%Overconfidence Bias0.0%This article: 13.0%Anna RascouĂ«t-Paz: 2.6%Snopes: 2.4%Framing Effect13.0%This article: 0.0%Anna RascouĂ«t-Paz: 0.0%Snopes: 0.2%Loss Aversion0.0%This article: 2.4%Anna RascouĂ«t-Paz: 0.2%Snopes: 0.5%Status Quo Bias2.4%This article: 0.0%Anna RascouĂ«t-Paz: 0.1%Snopes: 0.1%Sunk Cost Effect0.0%This article: 0.0%Anna RascouĂ«t-Paz: 0.6%Snopes: 0.5%Optimism Bias0.0%This article: 8.0%Anna RascouĂ«t-Paz: 0.7%Snopes: 0.4%Pessimism Bias8.0%This article: 7.2%Anna RascouĂ«t-Paz: 4.8%Snopes: 5.1%Negativity Bias7.2%This article: 0.6%Anna RascouĂ«t-Paz: 0.4%Snopes: 0.7%Self-Serving Bias0.6%This article: 0.0%Anna RascouĂ«t-Paz: 1.2%Snopes: 0.6%Fundamental Attribution Error0.0%This article: 0.0%Anna RascouĂ«t-Paz: 0.2%Snopes: 0.1%Actor-Observer Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Anna RascouĂ«t-Paz: 0.1%Snopes: 0.5%In-Group Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Anna RascouĂ«t-Paz: 0.5%Snopes: 0.3%Out-Group Homogeneity Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Anna RascouĂ«t-Paz: 1.3%Snopes: 0.6%Halo Effect0.0%This article: 0.0%Anna RascouĂ«t-Paz: 0.1%Snopes: 0.0%Horn Effect0.0%This article: 0.0%Anna RascouĂ«t-Paz: 0.0%Snopes: 0.0%Dunning-Kruger Effect0.0%This article: 3.2%Anna RascouĂ«t-Paz: 0.6%Snopes: 1.5%Recency Bias3.2%This article: 0.0%Anna RascouĂ«t-Paz: 0.7%Snopes: 0.5%Primacy Effect0.0%This article: 0.0%Anna RascouĂ«t-Paz: 0.1%Snopes: 0.1%Blind-Spot Bias0.0%This article: 1.4%Anna RascouĂ«t-Paz: 0.9%Snopes: 1.5%Ad Hominem1.4%This article: 0.0%Anna RascouĂ«t-Paz: 0.0%Snopes: 0.4%Straw Man0.0%This article: 7.2%Anna RascouĂ«t-Paz: 6.4%Snopes: 6.0%Appeal to Authority7.2%This article: 0.4%Anna RascouĂ«t-Paz: 0.2%Snopes: 0.9%False Dilemma0.4%This article: 0.0%Anna RascouĂ«t-Paz: 0.0%Snopes: 0.6%Slippery Slope0.0%This article: 0.0%Anna RascouĂ«t-Paz: 0.0%Snopes: 0.1%Circular Reasoning0.0%This article: 4.3%Anna RascouĂ«t-Paz: 2.4%Snopes: 3.5%Hasty Generalization4.3%This article: 7.3%Anna RascouĂ«t-Paz: 1.3%Snopes: 0.7%Red Herring7.3%This article: 1.7%Anna RascouĂ«t-Paz: 2.5%Snopes: 1.5%Bandwagon1.7%This article: 0.7%Anna RascouĂ«t-Paz: 1.7%Snopes: 3.0%Appeal to Emotion0.7%This article: 0.0%Anna RascouĂ«t-Paz: 0.3%Snopes: 0.4%Begging the Question0.0%This article: 2.2%Anna RascouĂ«t-Paz: 1.3%Snopes: 1.6%Post Hoc (False Cause)2.2%This article: 0.0%Anna RascouĂ«t-Paz: 0.3%Snopes: 0.2%Tu Quoque0.0%This article: 6.0%Anna RascouĂ«t-Paz: 2.7%Snopes: 1.6%Burden of Proof6.0%This article: 0.0%Anna RascouĂ«t-Paz: 0.4%Snopes: 0.2%Appeal to Nature0.0%This article: 0.0%Anna RascouĂ«t-Paz: 0.3%Snopes: 0.2%Composition/Division0.0%This article: 6.5%Anna RascouĂ«t-Paz: 2.3%Snopes: 1.8%Anecdotal6.5%This article: 0.0%Anna RascouĂ«t-Paz: 0.1%Snopes: 0.1%No True Scotsman0.0%This article: 5.0%Anna RascouĂ«t-Paz: 2.3%Snopes: 1.8%Ambiguity (Equivocation)5.0%This article: 0.0%Anna RascouĂ«t-Paz: 0.0%Snopes: 0.0%Gambler’s Fallacy0.0%This article: 0.0%Anna RascouĂ«t-Paz: 0.0%Snopes: 0.1%Middle Ground0.0%This article: 0.0%Anna RascouĂ«t-Paz: 0.1%Snopes: 0.1%Personal Incredulity0.0%This article: 0.6%Anna RascouĂ«t-Paz: 0.0%Snopes: 0.1%Special Pleading0.6%This article: 0.0%Anna RascouĂ«t-Paz: 0.2%Snopes: 0.3%Genetic Fallacy0.0%This article: 0.0%Anna RascouĂ«t-Paz: 2.3%Snopes: 3.3%Unattributed Quote0.0%This article: 2.0%Anna RascouĂ«t-Paz: 1.6%Snopes: 2.3%Quote-first Misdirection2.0%This article: 0.0%Anna RascouĂ«t-Paz: 1.9%Snopes: 2.5%Biased Writer Voice0.0%This article: 0.0%Anna RascouĂ«t-Paz: 0.0%Snopes: 0.7%Indoctrination0.0%This article: 0.0%Anna RascouĂ«t-Paz: 0.4%Snopes: 0.2%Politically Left Leaning Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Anna RascouĂ«t-Paz: 0.1%Snopes: 0.3%Politically Right Leaning Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Anna RascouĂ«t-Paz: 0.3%Snopes: 0.4%Attempt to Sell a Product or S
0.0%

713 words analyzed.

Speakers

4speakers26%attributed speech529writer words
Voice mapSelect a segment to jump to its words
James Franco ‱ 9 words ‱ 0.0% coverageWriter's voice ‱ 3 words ‱ 0.0% coverageWriter's voice ‱ 21 words ‱ 0.0% coverageJames Franco ‱ 14 words ‱ 0.0% coverageWriter's voice ‱ 17 words ‱ 0.0% coverageWriter's voice ‱ 14 words ‱ 0.0% coverageWriter's voice ‱ 36 words ‱ 0.0% coverageWriter's voice ‱ 9 words ‱ 0.0% coverageSnopes ‱ 11 words ‱ 0.0% coverageWriter's voice ‱ 12 words ‱ 0.0% coverageWriter's voice ‱ 22 words ‱ 0.0% coverageWriter's voice ‱ 12 words ‱ 0.0% coverageWriter's voice ‱ 29 words ‱ 0.0% coverageJames Franco ‱ 16 words ‱ 0.0% coverageWriter's voice ‱ 29 words ‱ 0.0% coverageWriter's voice ‱ 13 words ‱ 0.0% coverageWriter's voice ‱ 29 words ‱ 0.0% coverageWriter's voice ‱ 14 words ‱ 0.0% coverageWriter's voice ‱ 43 words ‱ 0.0% coverageWriter's voice ‱ 8 words ‱ 0.0% coverageWriter's voice ‱ 23 words ‱ 0.0% coverageWriter's voice ‱ 10 words ‱ 0.0% coverageJames Franco ‱ 13 words ‱ 0.0% coverageInternet Movie Database (IMDb) ‱ 20 words ‱ 0.0% coverageThe Daily Mail ‱ 31 words ‱ 0.0% coverageWriter's voice ‱ 16 words ‱ 0.0% coverageWriter's voice ‱ 28 words ‱ 0.0% coverageJames Franco ‱ 14 words ‱ 100.0% coverageJames Franco ‱ 4 words ‱ 0.0% coverageJames Franco ‱ 5 words ‱ 0.0% coverageJames Franco ‱ 4 words ‱ 0.0% coverageJames Franco ‱ 1 words ‱ 0.0% coverageJames Franco ‱ 1 words ‱ 0.0% coverageJames Franco ‱ 12 words ‱ 0.0% coverageWriter's voice ‱ 17 words ‱ 0.0% coverageWriter's voice ‱ 18 words ‱ 0.0% coverageWriter's voice ‱ 5 words ‱ 0.0% coverageWriter's voice ‱ 10 words ‱ 0.0% coverageWriter's voice ‱ 12 words ‱ 0.0% coverageWriter's voice ‱ 20 words ‱ 0.0% coverageWriter's voice ‱ 10 words ‱ 0.0% coverageWriter's voice ‱ 18 words ‱ 0.0% coverageWriter's voice ‱ 31 words ‱ 0.0% coverageSnopes ‱ 29 words ‱ 0.0% coverage
Selected voice

The Daily Mail

100%flagged-word coverage
31 attributed words17% of attributed speech73% writer coverage

No manipulation-pattern hits were found in this speaker's attributed words or the writer's voice.

Attribution is sentence-level. Pattern percentages are calculated only from words assigned to that voice.

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Analysis

Hover over highlighted words in the article to view the associated bias or fallacy analysis.