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The Great Drone Panic of 2024 (which turned out to be a big nothing-burger) will go down as one of the oddest but far-reaching conspiracies of 2024 — a tale of how citizens, government officials, and even the President-Elect got caught up in mass, social-media driven paranoia.
Why It Hits: Outcry over the drones is the latest example of trust breaking down across American society and government. If there’s this much dangerous speculation over what’s allegedly nothing, we may be ill-equipped to handle a real technological threat.
Behind the Curtain: Boy, did people get worked up by the drone sightings over the past three weeks.
- Context: Thousands of people reported strange, low-flying drone sightings across the Northeastern US (especially in New Jersey) that were airborne for hours at a time. Several were even spotted around military installations and critical infrastructure, requiring shutdowns.
- Response: Local law enforcement and government officials were stumped, requesting the Feds to get to the bottom of the mystery. No surprise, conspiracy theories started to fly (Iranian mothership, stealing nuclear secrets, etc.) — even among elected officials you’d hope wouldn’t add fuel to the fire.
- Conclusion: The Feds stamped down on conspiracy theories and investigated about 100 sightings further. The DHS, FBI, FAA, and DOD then released a rare joint statement saying that the drones were a mix of commercial, hobbyist, and law enforcement, as well as manned aircraft. Nothing nefarious.
Closing Thoughts: What a ride. But blame can’t totally be put on the mass hysteria of concerned citizens. A Chinese spy balloon was downplayed and then shot down in February 2023; WSJ reported that mysterious drones were spotted near Langley Air Force Base in Virginia last year; and an uncovered Department of Homeland Security memo warned that cities were woefully unprepared for protecting from drone attacks (a staple on the Ukrainian battlefront). Expect the rollout of cutting-edge drone-detection tech to go nationwide next year.
Go Higher: Wing and DoorDash are teaming up to fulfill food orders via drone in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, so things are about to get even more complicated.
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