Viral Area 51 ‘raid’ amasses 1 million recruits, gets Air Force warning
It’s “Mission: Impossible” meets “Mars Attacks” — and it’s going down at Area 51.
An event called “Storm Area 51, They Can’t Stop All of Us” appeared on Facebook earlier this month, urging alien enthusiasts everywhere to gather for a history-making mission.
In the past week, the number of people “going” has skyrocketed from 300,000 to 1,000,000 — with an additional 918,000 Facebookers declaring they are “interested.”
“We will all meet up at the Area 51 Alien Center tourist attraction and coordinate our entry,” the invitation reads. “… We can move faster than their bullets. Lets see them aliens.”
The alien “attack” has established itself as the sort-of Burning Man of conspiracy theorist gatherings, attracting techies, vapers, memers, millennials, Gen Zers and even a few eccentric celebs hoping to plug their work for a whole new race of intelligent beings.
“#HappinessBeginsTour at the post-raid rave #Area51,” tweeted Kevin Jonas.
“They can’t stop all of us! #Area51,” wrote “Game of Thrones” actor Liam Cunningham — who knows a thing or two about raids and paranormal invasions.
“On my way to Area 51 to warn my family about the human invasion … ,” said a green-haired Jeffree Star.
Aside from its star factor, the event has gifted the internet with a new wealth of extraterrestrial appreciation memes.
“Be careful driving to close to Area 51 y’all,” said social media personality Gabriel Zamora, along with a mash-up GIF of a flying car and a clip from “KUWTK” wherein three Kardashian sisters dramatically dodge a traffic accident.
“Me & my Area 51 alien reaching Georgia after a long drive cross country,” tweeted pro-Georgia meme account @GAFollowers, showing an alien making a pit stop at none other than legendary diner chain Waffle House.
The viral popularity of “Storm Area 51” has forced mainstream media and, yes, even the feds to take notice.
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The event creators maintain that the whole thing is a joke, meant to establish a new forum for alien, UFO and conspiracy theory memes — rather than a genuine effort to break into a heavily guarded military base.
“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,” a pinned post on the event page reads.
But given the group’s popularity, a branch of the armed forces decided to make an official statement to anyone bonkers enough to attempt the stunt.
“[Area 51] is an open training range for the US Air Force, and we would discourage anyone from trying to come into the area where we train American armed forces,” USAF spokeswoman Laura McAndrews told the Washington Post. “The US Air Force always stands ready to protect America and its assets.”
Given the notorious secrecy surrounding Area 51, it seems only fair to assume “assets” is code for hostage aliens.
