The panic in New Jersey and across the country is very real as reports of multiple drone sightings over New Jersey remain unsolved. Reports of these drones have been pouring in every night since the first sighting on November 18, 2024, but their origin remains shrouded in mystery. Drones have been seen over reservoirs, the U.S. military’s Picatinny Arsenal facility, President-elect Trump’s Bedminster golf course, and have even reportedly tracked a U.S. Coast Guard vessel.
Nearly 100 years ago, on October 30, 1938, many of these same areas of New Jersey were also the setting for Orson Welles’ infamous radio broadcast of “The War of the Worlds.” This radio play, detailing a Martian landing in Mercer County, New Jersey, fooled many people who tuned in late and believed the event was really happening.
It would be unfair to directly compare the current drone situation to the “War of the Worlds” broadcasts. There was no actual event equivalent to a broadcast, and nothing was visible in the sky. But there are some interesting similarities, says A. Brad Schwartz. Schwartz is the author of “.Broadcast Hysteria: Orson Welles’ War of the Worlds and the Art of Fake News”, a historical analysis of the infamous 1938 radio broadcast.s “It’s such a big part of local folklore in that part of the state that when you mention UFOs, people remember that broadcast,” Schwartz said. Some people heard the broadcast, and some even visited the “landing site” on a school field trip.
But the similarities don’t end there. Caught between two world wars, the country was in the midst of the Great Depression and mass unemployment. “Like today, October 1938 was a time of great anxiety not only in America but around the world, with fears of war, economic depression, and environmental destruction felt very real to many people. “It was,” Schwartz said.
In fact, many listeners to the broadcast thought the visitors in the broadcast were Nazis rather than Martians, or that the crash landing was connected to some other environmental catastrophe, he says.
“When you have that much anxiety in the atmosphere, you tend to fixate on events like War of the Worlds.” Schwartz says. “People are publicly speculating about their origins without knowing all the facts.” This can also be seen in the current drone situation, with explanations ranging from prank enthusiasts, Iranian motherships, Chinese, It could be the Russians, our government, Amazon, Google, Elon Musk, or even aliens.
“One of the lessons I think people can still learn from ‘War of the Worlds’ is to think more carefully about the sources of information, especially when it comes to such alarming and disturbing stories,” Schwartz said. ” he said. for a moment. “
The FBI and Department of Homeland Security issued a statement claiming that “many of the reported sightings appear to be in fact legally operating manned aircraft.” According to Reuters. White House Press Secretary John Kirby told reporters at a Dec. 12 press briefing that “there is no known malicious activity occurring” in connection with the reported drone activity. .
Nevertheless, some US senators have issued statements calling for the reported use of drones. be shot down.
There is a lot of anxiety today, especially with the current political climate and the emergence of particularly powerful technologies, technologies that we don’t know how to manage on the world stage. Similar anxieties existed in the late 1930s, when new forms of mass media were emerging. Some feared that these technologies threatened democracy.
“Today, we all need to be even more careful before believing or sharing anything that sounds like news to make sure it comes from a reliable source. “This is the best and only way to prevent it from spreading and getting out of control,” Schwartz said.
