Question

4 there is actually longstanding evidence that alien life has already made its way to earth. for example, many have long asserted that area 51, the highly classified u.s. air force base outside las vegas, nevada, houses such evidence. while numerous ufo (unidentified flying object) sightings have been reported in the area in recent decades, the u.s. government maintains that the details of area 51 are classified in order to protect national security. this response, along with numerous claims of alien sightings across the country, has fueled speculation that officials have already uncovered evidence of alien life. for nasa, however, the focus remains on finding alien life elsewhere in the galaxy. the fourth paragraph is meant to support the author’s main claim that it is likely that alien life exists beyond earth. what’s wrong with the author’s argument in the fourth paragraph? the fact that many people have claimed aliens have reached earth is not evidence that it’s true. the idea that area 51 might hold evidence of alien life is not relevant to the main claim. the author fails to offer a reason why aliens who reached earth would choose to visit area 51.

Explanation:

The author uses unsubstantiated claims of alien sightings and Area 51 speculation to support the main claim of alien life beyond Earth. However, anecdotal claims and speculation do not count as empirical evidence for the claim. The first option correctly identifies this flaw, while the other options are incorrect: Area 51 claims are related to the idea of alien life (so relevant to the main claim), and the author does not need to explain why aliens would choose Area 51 to support the broader claim of alien existence.

Answer:

The fact that many people have claimed aliens have reached Earth is not evidence that it's true.