David Wilcock

David Wilcock (March 8, 1973 – April 20, 2026) was an American paranormal writer, media personality, and YouTuber. He was a significant figure in the disclosure movement and a regular contributor to pseudoscientific theories in popular culture media, appearing in productions made by Gaia and on Ancient Aliens.

Wilcock believed himself to be in telepathic contact with extraterrestrial beings and indirectly proffered this belief as a basis for his teachings. Some of his followers believe he was the reincarnation of Edgar Cayce. According to his website, Divine Cosmos, he offered teachings in "soul growth, ascension, and the evolution of consciousness."

Early life and education David Wilcock was born on March 8, 1973, in Rotterdam, New York. His father, Donald, was a journalist and the author of a biography of Buddy Guy. David graduated from the State University of New York at New Paltz (SUNY, New Paltz) in 1995, where he studied psychology.

Later career Wilcock established himself as a significant figure in the disclosure movement, which advocates for the end of what it believes is United States Government secrecy about the existence of aliens and UFOs, and authored a number of books.

Wilcock sold $533 enrollments to his seven-week "Ascension Mystery School" which, he suggested, could prepare participants for salvation from the doom of a forthcoming alien invasion. which Kirkus Reviews described as chronicling his prediction that the year 2012 would be "the start of an epoch that may usher in a higher state of consciousness". According to publisher Penguin Random House, Wilcock's books Awakening in the Dream and The Ascension Mysteries were both New York Times bestsellers.

From 2013 to 2018, Wilcock hosted a show on Gaia titled Wisdom Teachings. He, along with Corey Goode, co-hosted a program also on Gaia called Cosmic Disclosures from 2015 to 2018. Wilcock's 2018 documentary-style film Above Majestic, according to Vice, makes the case that "reptilian aliens occupy large swaths of Antarctica, are massing for an invasion, and control the world's governments and banks". The following year, Wilcock produced the documentary style film The Cosmic Secret, which Vice described as predicting an upcoming global catastrophe based on information Wilcock purported to have received via telepathic contact with space aliens.

From 2010 on, Wilcock hosted a YouTube channel that eventually garnered half a million followers.

He had become the "director of advanced technology" of Stavatti Aerospace by 2023.

He maintained a website, Divine Cosmos, until his death in 2026 where his teachings and lectures could be found. He died at his residence on April 20, 2026, at the age of 53, from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. His death was witnessed by law enforcement officers who had responded to an earlier 911 call he placed. His family later issued a statement of remembrance, acknowledging that while there were concerns about misinformation in regards to his beliefs, he was yet engaged in an "eternal quest for clarity".

His death sparked a number of conspiracy theories relating to the disappearance and deaths of eleven scientists whose work specialized in nuclear and space programs and supposedly classified projects. One day before Wilcock's death, he commented on the disappearance of the scientists in his final live stream on April 19, which contributed to conspiracy theories about his own death.

The House Oversight Committee and the FBI announced that they would each investigate the fates of the scientists. Wilcock's death also sparked unsubstantiated rumors of foul play regarding the deaths of fellow researchers Erich von Däniken and Nick Pope, who died within months of each other, the former from old age and the latter from cancer.