The mysterious reports of drones dotting the skies over New Jersey and other northeastern states have sparked numerous conspiracy theories and misinformation as authorities investigate, with social media users and government officials alike baselessly speculating about foreign adversaries, aliens and nuclear fallout—all of which the federal government says are false. (More updates on the drone sightings are available here.)
White House National Security spokesman John Kirby speaks during the daily briefing at the White House in Washington on Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Key Takeaways
- Federal agencies investigating drone sightings—the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, the FAA, and the Defense Department—released a joint statement on Monday concluding nothing “anomalous” was identified after reviewing 5,000 tips for drone sightings, which have been reported in more than six states since mid-November.
- That same day, President-elect Donald Trump claimed, without evidence, that the U.S. military knows what the drones are but isn’t telling the public the truth (the president-elect receives intelligence but declined to answer whether he received any about the drones), making him the latest public official sowing doubt over what authorities have said about the reported drones.
- Other Trump supporters have voiced conspiracy theories about the drone sightings in recent days, like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., who posted Saturday that “the government is in control of the drones”—but federal officials have denied any involvement.
- Podcaster Joe Rogan, whose show often discusses conspiracy theories, shared a video Sunday on X of the CEO of a drone manufacturing firm claiming the drones are from searching for a long-lost nuclear warhead, gas leaks or radioactive material, saying he was “genuinely concerned” and called the federal drone response suspicious on Dec. 12.
- Meanwhile, fake videos of drones have proliferated: One TikTok video has more than 10 million views on the platform and describes the featured silhouette of a flying spaceship-like object as “an unidentified drone” alongside a near-hidden tag saying it’s “digitally created.”
- Other posts with tags or references to the New Jersey sightings show seemingly doctored images that don’t align with what officials have shared, such as a video on X showing a twirling lighted orb that has more than 18,000 likes or a video with thousands of shares showing two alleged drones overlapping paths, which popular conspiracy debunker Mick West says is two planes.
- Even government officials have confused the machines: Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., made a series of X posts about spotting several drones with police officials but said that upon learning more he concluded most of the drone sightings he observed “were almost certainly planes,” while former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan posted a video on X on Friday showing alleged “large drones,” despite the video showing several recognizable stars, including the constellation Orion, that appeared to be part of his drone claims.
Is The U.S. Government Or Military In Control Of The Drones?
Federal officials say they aren’t. Military bases, such as the Picatinny Arsenal and the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, have reported the drone sightings themselves or explicitly said they were not involved. Sabrina Singh, the Pentagon’s spokesperson, also said the drones have no relation to the U.S. military. Rep. Chris Smith, R-New Jersey, said Friday the drones appear to be military. Bethenny Frankel, a reality TV show actress and influencer, started posting on TikTok Monday about an theory alleging the reported drones are government-related and are “sniffing out something dangerous” like radiation.
Frankel’s several videos about the theory have more than 2 million views collectively. Michael Melham, the mayor of Belleville, New Jersey, added to the theory in a television interview with Fox 5 New York Tuesday, saying the theory is possible and pointing to an announcement from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission about a shipment of radioactive material that went missing in New Jersey around Dec. 2.
Did The Drones Come From Iran, Russia Or A Foreign Adversary?
Federal officials have repeatedly stated that there is no evidence of “any foreign-based involvement in sending drones ashore from marine vessels in the area” or evidence the drones were “aligned with a foreign actor.” Some have believed otherwise, such as Jeff Van Drew, R-NJ, who told Fox News on Dec. 11 that “Iran launched a mothership” off the East Coast which released the drones. The Pentagon quickly denied this claim, with Singh saying on Dec. 11 that “there is no Iranian ship off the coast of the United States and there’s no so-called mothership launching drones towards the United States.”
Are The Drones Spraying Chemicals?
A White House briefing from Dec. 14 states there is no evidence to “support large-scale [unmanned aerial system activities]” or “malicious intent.” The piece of misinformation—found in at least one video on X shared by Taylor Green on Dec. 13—likely relates to the concept of “chemtrails,” or a known conspiracy theory that argues governments use planes to release a stream of chemicals. The theory has been widely debunked.
Could The Drones Be Ufos Or Aliens?
A theory featured in dozens of posts on X to explain the drones is called “Project Blue Beam,” a 1990s-born concept that claims technology will be used to deceive the public and fake an alien invasion to control the world. Trump influencer and actress Roseanne Barr posted about the theory on Dec. 14. While Federal officials have not commented directly on alien involvement, the U.S. government has never found evidence of alien life.
Is This Reported Drone Activity New?
The unnamed Department of Defense official said in the Dec. 14 briefing that unexplained drone sightings aren’t new, and the department has “had to deal with drone incursions over our bases for quite a time now.” Several have happened in the past few years, including at U.S. Air Force bases in the United Kingdom.
Are The Drones Actually Just Airplanes?
Federal officials have repeatedly said that most of the sightings are airplanes, although Rep. Smith denied this Saturday, calling the explanation an “insult.” Using geospatial modeling and “overlaying” the reported sightings with airplane pathways, the unnamed Department of Homeland Security official said it’s “confident that many of the reported drone sightings are, in fact, manned aircraft being misidentified as drones.” It’s a common case of “mistaken identity,” the statement continued.
The briefing said only about 100 of the 5,000 tips it received merited further investigation, meaning thousands of legal drones, airplanes and potentially even stars have been falsely identified as drones. Even so, an unnamed FBI official said in the Dec. 14 briefing that “without a doubt,” drones have been flying over New Jersey, although many have been registered, before saying none were “anomalous.”
Crucial Quote
“There hasn’t been enough transparency letting people know what’s happening,” Sen. Cory Booker, D-NJ, told reporters on Dec. 13. “It’s allowing a lot of potentially misinformation to spread, or at least fear. We should know what’s going on over our skies.”
Chief Critic
Pennsylvania’s State Senator Doug Mastriano said on X it is “inconceivable that the federal government has no answers”and added “action is long overdue.” In the post, he included a photo of a replica spaceship from the film series “Star Wars,” captioned a “crashed drone.”
Key Background
The weeks of mystery surrounding the drones have fueled the story beyond just a few unexplained police reports, and as the investigation continues without concrete answers, many are concerned. While the Dec. 14 briefing states the federal government is doing extensive analysis and research, it hasn’t been entirely clear why the drones didn’t have an immediate explanation. But one reason the investigation wasn’t concluded, as officials explained in the Dec. 14 briefing, is that it is “limited in scope.”
The available counter-drone technology is powerful and could seriously threaten civilians, and current legislation states it can’t be used except for extremely coordinated and specific measures, Wired reported on Dec. 13. Now, officials and lawmakers are looking to address this with new legislation. With new laws, “the counter-UAS tools and technology that we have in those efforts will help us quickly identify or quickly mitigate some of the threats that would exist,” the unnamed FBI official said in the Dec. 14 briefing.
