On November 18 near Morris County, New Jersey the first drone sighting was documented. In the almost month since, several other states have also been the place for sightings, including New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Virginia, California, and Ohio.
This has spun many viral videos and resulting conspiracies, but the authorities’ stance is that they do not know. What’s being done? The FBI, state police, and Homeland Security are all investigating, but recently the FBI and DHS have said that most of the sightings are of “mistaken identity,” which just means that the people who have been reporting the ‘drones’ are really seeing small aircraft.
United States Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas also believes that some of the sightings may also have been “commercial drones,” but he can confirm that “we know of no threat or nefarious activity,” as he told CNN. It is also believed that some sightings, especially more recent ones, are people playing into the uncertainty as the topic gains popularity—out of the 5,000 tips the FBI has received only 100 have actually led to further investigation. The sightings have also been tied to international security, but an official from the Department of Defense says, “We don’t know if it’s malicious, if it is criminal. But … Here on the military side, we are just as frustrated with the irresponsible nature of this activity.” The Pentagon has, however, denied any rumors that the ‘drones’ have come from a “foreign entity.”
Despite the significant media coverage, there is no definite reason, which has led to serious miscommunication. The Senator of Minnesota has said the government should be more transparent about the sightings, and similarly, soon-to-be president Trump has encouraged people through Truth Social to “shoot them down” if the Biden administration does not release information they have on the sightings.
Although certain details remain unclear, the FBI does stand firm on the fact that there is “no evidence … that the reported drone sightings pose a national security or public safety threat.” Intending to keep the peace, the government has attempted to publish factual data rather than speculation, yet the conspiracies that people develop and imagine have seriously wounded this foundation. Although the situation is uncertain, it’s still relatively new. Therefore, the general public should wait for government confirmation on the sightings before speculating further.
