As the mystery surrounding drone sightings deepens, conspiracy theories fly

On By Littum

The flurry of drone activity lighting up the night skies over New Jersey and other states is fueling online posts and conspiracies offering bizarre claims to explain the drone “hysteria,” some involving missing nuclear material and an impending alien invasion.

Federal government officials have played down the reports in recent days, insisting the objects do not pose a threat to public safety or national security, and in some cases may simply be normal commercial air traffic being mistaken for drones.

More than 5,000 drone-related tips have been reported across the Northeast to the FBI since mid-November, though the agency cautions that some are duplicates and most are not worthy of further investigation.

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Still, the lack of clarity has only fueled social media intrigue and speculation that pretends to know who or what is driving the activity.

ONE TikTok video by the CEO of a remote aircraft systems company in Kansas was shared Sunday by Joe Rogan on X, prompting the popular podcaster to write, “This is the first video about these drones that has me genuinely concerned.”

The director, John Ferguson, explained that while he has seen nothing to indicate malicious intent, “the only reason they would fly and fly so low is because they are trying to smell something on the ground,” referring to to a gas leak or radioactive materials.

Ferguson, whose video has been viewed more than 1.5 million times, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday. Other TikTok users have shared similar beliefs that the drones may be looking for nuclear weapons or dirty bombs.

The mystery behind the drones also fuels decades-old conspiracy theories. One refers to Project Blue Beam, which involves a supposed government plot to fake an alien invasion and trigger panic.

During a wide-ranging press conference Monday, President-elect Donald Trump continued to cast doubt on the inability of government officials to fully explain an apparent increase in sightings, saying the military can determine where drones take off.

“Something strange is going on. For some reason they don’t want to tell the people, and they have to because the people are really — they happen to be over Bedminster,” Trump said of drone activity near his golf club in New Jersey. He declined to comment on whether he has received intelligence briefings on the case.

A senior official briefed on the drone sightings told NBC News last week that they believe drones were indeed seen over the Trump National Golf Club as well as the US Army’s Picatinny Arsenal research facility, also in northern New Jersey.

However, Trump said he does not believe an enemy is behind the activity and that the US would have “shot down” foreign drones. (The Federal Aviation Administration has warned private citizens against shooting drones, saying it would be a federal offense and could pose a security risk.)

Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh told reporters last week that the drones are neither US military-related nor appear to have been sent by another country, such as Iran.

But rep. Chris Smith, RN.J., told reporters Saturday that foreign actors should not be excluded.

“The evasive maneuvering of these drones suggests the sophistication of a major military power, raising the question of whether they have been deployed to test our defense capabilities — or worse — by violent dictatorships, perhaps Russia or China, or Iran or North Korea.” Smith said.

Other lawmakers continue to echo similar concerns.

“Why can’t the federal government tell us where these drones are from?!” Late. Rick Scott, R-Fla., wrote Monday the X. “The lack of transparency is exactly why Americans don’t trust our federal government. Not to mention, if these are the same Chinese drones I fought to ban from our military, they are a national security threat.”

Last week, Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., also called for increased government transparency, saying he was concerned that it allows potential “misinformation to spread, or at least fear. We should know what’s going on over our heaven.”

A New Jersey mayor, Ryan Herd of Pequannock Township, told NBC New York that answers are needed to allay community concerns.

“Now we’re getting to the point where this is just hysteria,” Herd said.

Former Republican Representative Adam Kinzinger, a vocal Trump critic, urged his followers on social media not to be swayed by the conspiracies just because politicians don’t have all the answers.

“Drones Exist,” Kinzinger wrote on Monday the X. “This does not mean they are Iran, aliens or sniffing out nuclear weapons.”