Barack Obama clarifies what he meant after confirming aliens are real

Just hours after inadvertently going viral for claiming aliens truly do exist, Barack Obama was forced to clear up his comments.

The 44th President made an appearance on the No Lie With Brian Tyler Cohen on Saturday (14 Feb), where he was asked what the 'first question' he 'wanted answering' was, when he was first sworn into the White House in 2009.

Obama's startling response blindsided listeners, directly addressing the long-standing rumour that extra-terrestrial artefacts are being held at Area 51.

For those unfamiliar with the facility, Area 51 refers to a highly classified, remote detachment of Edwards Air Force Base, which is discreetly located in the Nevada desert.

Since the 1947 discovery of an alleged 'flying disk' near Roswell, New Mexico, conspiracy theorists have been convinced that Area 51 - which the government insists is used for flight testing and the development of experimental aircraft and weapons - contains proof that life exists beyond our planet.

Obama claimed aliens are 'not being held' at Area 51 (Photo DigitalGlobe via Getty Images via Getty Images)

Obama admitted this week that he first sought to get to the bottom of these otherworldly rumours following his first presidential election victory almost two decades ago, claiming his investigation confirmed what he's long suspected.

"They're real, but I haven't seen them, and they're not being kept in – what is it?" the father-of-two began. "They’re not being kept at Area 51."

He continued: "There's no underground facility, unless there's this enormous conspiracy and they hid it from the president of the United States."

The former politician's controversial comments spread like wildfire online, with sceptics wondering if Obama was concealing any other unnerving discoveries from the American people.

In fact, his remarks sparked such a fiery debate online that he was subsequently forced to set the record straight on the matter in a follow-up statement.

Obama was forced to clarify his comments (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Taking to Instagram, the 61-year-old went on to write: "I was trying to stick with the spirit of the speed round, but since it’s gotten attention, let me clarify. Statistically, the universe is so vast that the odds are good there’s life out there.

"But the distances between solar systems are so great that the chances we’ve been visited by aliens is low, and I saw no evidence during my presidency that extra-terrestrials have made contact with us.

"Really!" he concluded his justification.

Unfortunately for Obama, his clarification seemed to fall on deaf ears, with one fan later jesting in the comments: "Blink twice if the aliens made you say this."

Another continued: "No contact with us…YET."