This applies to any of a number of "spectacular discoveries" that are supposedly being suppressed in the scientific or engineering world.

In reality, most scientists would chew their own arm off with their teeth to present something like this to the world, never mind the arm of a competing scientist. The more scientists that supposedly "know" about it, the chances of them all suppressing it approach zero.

I know one or two people who have worked in SETI, and if any of them had nailed down something that they were sure was a real signal, you would have to not only kill them to keep them from trumpeting it to the world, you'd probably have to bury them in a lead coffin at a crossroads with a stake through their hearts to keep them quiet afterwards.

Reminds me of all those people with magic carburetors that either let your car run on water, or get 200 mpg from a normal car. They claim the car companies are suppressing such things in droves. In real life, anybody who came up with something along those lines that really worked on normal cars, and cost next to nothing, the auto company CEOs would offer you their daughter's hand in marriage and half their kingdom.