Area 51 Raid
By Alise David
This summer meme still elicits a chuckle from those in the know.
Area 51 is a decades old conspiracy. Many a person in a tinfoil hat would tell you that the secretive military base in Southern Nevada is home to extraterrestrial activity hidden from us by our government.
This good old-fashioned conspiracy has been brought new life, however, after a Facebook event surrounding it received 1.5 million RSVPs. After several months of internet craze, the “Raid Area 51” event has received recognition from celebrities, the Air Force, and even the President himself. The man behind all the madness is college student, Matty Roberts.
The so called “Area 51 meme,” began on June 27th when Roberts created a public Facebook event named “Storm Area 51, They Can’t Stop All of Us.” Roberts presented this plan to his loyal followers: Meet on September 20th at 3:00 a.m. He even joked that, “if we Naruto run, we can move faster than their bullets. Let’s see them aliens.”
After these comments, the internet erupted in Area 51 tweets, posts, and memes. Thousands of internet users have created their own “bringing my alien home from Area 51” memes. Lil Nas X even incorporated Area 51 into his viral music video for his record-breaking hit “Old Town Road,” featuring other stars such as Billy Ray Cyrus, Young Thug, and Mason Ramsey.
After discovering that his joke picked up speed on the internet, Roberts released a second message reading “P.S. Hello US government, this is a joke, and I do not actually intend to go ahead with this plan. I just thought it would be funny and get me some thumbsy uppies on the internet.”
Despite releasing this statement, some folks have taken the raid seriously and even booked plane tickets and hotel rooms for September 20th. The rural area in southern Nevada is not accustomed to such a large amount of tourists. According to a local news station, some hotels are fully booked for the night of September 20th, though others such as Timbers Lodging and various AirBnBs still have room.
Although the original instigator of the joke may have faded to the shadows, a group of organizers has taken leadership of the event, even launching a website to sell merchandise.
