What’s New
More than 75,000 people have joined a Facebook group to discuss theories about the mysterious drone sightings in New Jersey.
The New Jersey Mystery Drones – let’s solve it Facebook group’s bio reads: “Admit it. The drone thing is weird. Let’s compile all our info here and solve it.”
Newsweek has contacted New Jersey State Police, FBI and Department of Homeland Security for comment.
AP Photo
Why It Matters
Since mid-November, numerous reports have emerged of large, unidentified drones flying over the East Coast, particularly in New Jersey and New York. The sightings have raised concerns among residents and officials, prompting investigations by federal and state authorities.
The drones do not pose a threat to public safety, according to law enforcement.
What To Know
Created on December 1, the New Jersey Mystery Drones – let’s solve it Facebook group is a public group where anyone can post theories on the drone sightings, with hypotheses ranging from extraterrestrials to foreign actors.
Group members often include pictures or videos in their posts, news articles from a variety of outlets, or even just an overarching question or comment for those interested to discuss.
“Perfect weather to drone hunt tonight!” member Mike DaRooki wrote Tuesday.
As the group grows, so do the number of sarcastic or unserious posts and comments within it.
Group member Tom Lizzi posted a photo Monday of a cartoon airplane, writing: “One man, Just took this pic of an unmanned aircraft…. must be a drone… people it’s getting a bit crazy.”
Member Stephanie Bosco-Ruggiero asked Tuesday: “Can admins remove people who repeatedly post that EVERY PERSON is seeing planes and helicopters? This group is for ‘solving’ the mystery, not denying that it exists.”
What People Are Saying
Steve Speeney, creator of the group, told Newsweek: “I saw people having a conversation about the drones on Facebook and I got curious. I saw that there was no central group for this, and I figured, let’s just put everybody in the same room and look at what we have.
“I don’t want anything I say to be construed as fact. I don’t have facts, and the best part is, I still haven’t seen one [a drone].
“In the beginning, there were experts in the group. I think those experts have just gotten frustrated and found other communities on Facebook. I’m sure there’s private groups out there where people are probably having better conversations at this point.
“I don’t believe in censorship in the way that sometimes we’ve had to remove content. But when content is valuable and it’s been posted over and over and over, you have to remove it, and then the person that posts it feels as if their content’s being censored. I understand that, but we receive about 3,000 posts a day.
“We don’t want to be a part of liability causing false alarms for first responders going out and chasing after whatever leads they’re getting.”
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas: “Some of those drone sightings are, in fact, drones. Some are manned aircraft that are commonly mistaken for drones and we do see duplicative reporting, but there’s no question that drones are being sighted.”
White House national security spokesperson John Kirby: “We assess that the sightings to date include a combination of lawful commercial drones, hobbyist drones and law enforcement drones, as well as manned fixed-wing aircrafts, helicopters and even stars that were mistakenly reported as drones.”
“I can’t rule out the fact that we might find some sort of illegal or criminal activity, some nefarious activity. All I can do is tell you that right now we see none of that.”
What Happens Next
Local and state officials, as well as the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security, will continue to investigate drone sighting reports.
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