Shadows in the sky: The New Jersey drone mystery and the rise of digital dissent

How a wave of mysterious drone sightings sparked censorship fears, generational shifts in conspiracy thinking, and a crisis of trust in America.

By Ashlee Johnston

It hovered low, humming over a quiet New Jersey neighborhood—an SUV-sized drone with no visible markings except for the flashing lights spotted late at night by multiple residents. 

Some thought it was a police operation; others were sure it was the U.S. Military. 

But no agency came forward to claim it.

Videos of the incident quickly spread across social media—until they were removed without explanation. Accounts were shadow-banned. Comments questioning the drone’s origin vanished. 

To many, it felt like a warning: don’t ask questions.

Residents were flooding New Jersey politicians' inboxes, but they knew just as much as the rest of us ... nothing.

But they seemed just as concerned with the lack of information from the federal government. 

Skepticism about drones not being a threat rose due to the lack of information being presented.

Conspiracy theories no longer 'fringe'

As government surveillance technology and methods become more advanced, government agencies are tightening their grip on news media platforms to dictate what’s allowed to be reported, to further their mutually beneficial relationship of informing and/or protecting the American public.

Conspiracy theories are no longer just fringe; they fuel a growing movement of people who don’t trust what they’re told. 

Conspiracy theorists have a stigma of being paranoid and delusional. 

“I think of tin foil hats,” said Reid Jones, Generation X member.  

But Abbey, a member of Generation Z, is less skeptical. “I think of someone looking for more information,” she said. 

The conspiracy theory stigma has changed through generations, but why? 

Generation Z is the first generation to grow up with constant access to information. If you want more information on a particular topic, it takes a couple of clicks to find it. 

Not only will you find what you are looking for, but you will also find criticism, communities of people dedicated to the topic, and spider-webbed theories around it. 

The Oxford Dictionary definition of a conspiracy theory is “a belief that some secret but influential organization is responsible for an event or phenomenon."

It is almost impossible not to find a conspiracy theory while searching for information, especially government information. 

And it's valid to have concerns about our government having access to everything we do on and offline. 

Especially since a primary reason we have confirmation of government access is thanks to Edward Snowden, a former National Security Agency contractor who became a whistleblower in 2013, revealing mass intelligence-gathering surveillance programs the U.S. government had used for years. 

“As a veteran and a union member/leader, I strongly believe that we should have the right to report things we believe are wrong without fear of retaliation," said Chuck Moore, Marine Corps veteran. "I saw firsthand in some of the countries I served/fought in what a submissive or subservient population looks like, and it's not good, it was pretty substandard."

Before Snowden, the public did not know how much access the government had to our private information, but its revelation has potentially had a chilling effect.

The release of Snowden's information legitimized many government conspiracies to the point where they were no longer considered conspiracies. 

This growing skepticism cracked open the door for other long-dismissed suspicions to re-emerge: secret government programs, media manipulation, and the strategic erasure of alternative narratives online.

Platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube often cite “community guidelines” when removing content. But for users who’ve seen posts about government overreach or global events mysteriously disappear, it raises deeper concerns: Who decides what violates guidelines? And who benefits when certain voices are silenced?

But with the rise of platforms like Joe Rogan’s podcast, conspiracy theorists distrustful of mainstream media have another conspirator.

“I think the traditional media has been exposed for the puppets that they are,” said Reid Jones, a Generation X member. 

This fusion of government oversight and perception of mainstream media gatekeeping has made the ground fertile for conspiracy theories to evolve, not just as ideas but as movements. 

New Jersey drones fuel conspiracy theories

Online forums, alternative media sites, and encrypted messaging apps have become echo chambers of distrust. We saw this play out in late 2024 when mysterious SUV-sized drones were spotted hovering over residential areas heavily concentrated in New Jersey and along the East Coast.

TikTok users posted numerous videos of the drones, but they would be taken down by the morning. 

These drones affected thousands of people, but nothing came up when you searched for videos. 

That is, until former housewife and New Jersey resident Bethenny Frankel went to her TikTok page to share her drone sighting experience and offer others validation in theirs. 

Frankel’s hysteria brought more attention to the public's concern about drones.

But this didn't last long until she was on the government's radar; her videos started being taken down and censored from her audience. 

She knew this was happening, so she created a whole secret language only the drone community understood to conceal the topic of conversation. This method worked, so she continued to report, now using the word “Dior bag” instead of a drone. 

There was no mainstream media reporting on the drone activity, and people were becoming extremely unsettled. 

“Whatever these drones are doing, the government really doesn’t want us to know,” said New Jersey Sen. Jon Bramnick (R).

NJ State Rep, Brian Bergen (R) also voiced concerns after walking out of a

conference that was supposed to inform them of what was happening. 

“I walked out because it was worthless. It was the biggest amateur hour presentation I’ve ever seen about anything. It was ridiculous. There were no answers,” he told News Nation, a conservative media outlet.

The only thing that followed the failed briefing was a no-fly zone put out over the residential areas. 

The drone sighting reports continued after the no-fly mandate was implemented to make people think the drones were civilian-owned and further deny the sightings. 

There were many theories circling the drone code language side of TikTok, but drone expert and College of Charleston professor Dr. Mia Wang believes the drones were either U.S. Military or even of alien descent given the type of technology.

“That technology, at least for the civilian side, we don't have it yet," Dr. Wang said. "That's probably from the military. They have it, but we don't know. But if it's alien, if it's from a planet whose technology is way above our earth's, it's possible. I absolutely think it's possible."

Dr. Wang debunked the conspiracies within the conspiracy.

“I tend to believe it's not other countries because it's too risky, and the target is too big," she added. "It's either our own government, or it's bigger.” 

There was never a real resolution about the drones communicated from the federal government, which fueled more distrust.

The way the federal government handled the drone sightings fostered even more conspiracy theories. 

Moore, a former Marine, believes it is common to question authority.

"It's human nature to question governments' intentions or motives and say that they don’t know anything and just want to control me," he said. "And it is our responsibility to use common sense and weed out the crazy people."