Donald Trump fuels conspiracy theories about mysterious drone-like objects

Drones, planes or UFOs? This is the question Americans are asking about mysterious aircraft seen in a number of US states during nighttime.

Sightings of the flying objects have been reported in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Maryland, only fuelling conspiracy theories on social media about surveillance, spying and even military war exercises.

Even the FBI is not entirely sure what has been seen in the sky. One thing is for sure, it has left people panicked.

Legislators are demanding explanations from federal and state authorities about what is causing the airborne phenomenon.

What do we know about the mysterious drones?

Cropping up on local news and social media around Thanksgiving time, the saga of the drones reported has reached incredible heights.

In the last two weeks, possible sightings have been reported around New Jersey and neighbouring states.

What is most baffling is that nobody has yet been able to properly identify them – they have been described as ‘drone-like flying object’ by some and as planes by others.

White House officials have confirmed they have not been deployed by the military.

Despite threats that ‘China is spying on US citizens,’ no foreign involvement has been suspected officially.

Both the federal Homeland Security Department and FBI said they have no evidence that the sightings actually pose ‘a national security or public safety threat or have a foreign nexus’.

Since the first sighting, the FBI has already received more than 3,000 tips from people who have allegedly spotted them.

Investigators are appealing for more information from witnesses, including specific times, locations, and video and photo evidence.

What has Donald Trump said about them?

As more drone sightings have been reported in the last 24 hours, president-elect Donald Trump has only aggravated the frenzy further.

The Republican said that he believes the US government knows more than it is saying.

‘Let the public know, and now. Otherwise, shoot them down!!!’ he posted on his social media site.

What are the conspiracy theories around them?

No officials have been able to confirm with certainty what the aircraft are, only allowing for conspiracy theories to flourish online.

Some theorise that the drones came from an Iranian mothership. Others think they are the Secret Service making sure Trump’s Bedminster property is secure.

Others worry about China, the deep state, and on and on and on.

A Facebook page, ‘New Jersey Mystery Drones – let’s solve it’, has nearly 44,000 members, up from 39,000 on Thursday.

People are posting their photo and video sightings, and the commenters take it from there.

One video shows a whitish light flying in a darkened sky. ‘Straight up orbs,’ a person commented.

Others weigh in to say it is a plane or maybe a satellite.

Another group called for hunting the drones literally, shooting them down like turkeys.

William Austin, president of Warren County Community College, which has a drone technology degree programme, and is coincidentally located in one of the sighting hotspots.

After examining footage online, he said that planes are being misidentified as drones.

He cited an optical effect called parallax, which is the apparent shift of an object when viewed from different perspectives.

He encouraged people to download flight and drone tracker apps so they can better understand what they are looking at.

‘It represents the United States of America in 2024,’ Austin said about the theories around the sightings.

‘We’ve lost trust in our institutions, and we need it.’

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