It was a Catholic 'astronomer' who first developed the big bang theory, default creation myth of modern McCommunist man and his humanist 'faith' in which salvation from without could easily take the form of 'alien brothers' since another of it's doctrines is the complete failure of mankind, and his 'religions' to help himself or each other. So I would say they are not just buying in, they are some of it's chief architects, along with the numerous other, mostly Jewish or Catholic 'scientists' responsible for much of the rest of it, including evolution, quantum theory, materialist psychiatry and psychology, relativity etc.
It is not unreasonable to consider the 'disclosure' of alien life as a possible grand deception in preparation for Antichrist or NWO, it is one of the strongest possibilities in my view. Technology available to the government/military/corporate manipulators is usually estimated to be at least thirty years ahead of what trickles down to the populace. Holographic projection is as advanced as it needs to be to create a realistic invasion or visitation from space and the number of people with at least a healthy skepticism of the reality with which they are presented through the MSM is so small, it seems to be one of the most likely scenarios for an effective end game, even if it might seem crazy on the face of it. The power of the 9/11 psyop has waned, it's job is done, and the next shock needs have far more impact than a mere terrorist attack. That the idea is simultaneously presented as a real possibility and ridiculed as a crackpot fantasy is, I think, indicative of it being a genuine candidate for the next phase of the deception.
Drop a few tantalizing hints, sprinkled with a little scientific mumbo-jumbo, throw in some theological speculation but keep it vague enough to be acceptable to almost every belief system, throw a few 'authoritative' voices behind it but not so respectable that it can't also be dismissed (funny how the RC is perfect for that.) Build the tension, but make sure it will still be shocking when it hits. I could see it working. Question is, will it be invasion or salvation? Will the aliens help us save ourselves from ourselves or will the NWO or Antichrist save us from the invaders? Will it be for the formation of a world government or will that already be in place? Will it follow a war or proceed one?
I know this is all speculation, but when I read this thread it reminded me of something the science fiction author Philip K Dick said: 'When your'e ready to laugh at the idea of little green men, that's when they really zap you.' And he wrote real sci-fi, not the mass market fluff of doxacon. His aliens were almost always hostile and when they were friendly, it was probably a trick.