--- title: "Almost 300,000 People Say They’re Gonna Storm Area 51" description: "The Facebook event, \"Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us\" amassed almost 300,000 conspirators and meme lovers ready for an Area 51 raid." date: "2019-07-11" modified: "2019-07-16" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/300000-people-storm-area-51" categories: - "Future Society" tags: - "air force" - "aliens" - "the digest" - "US Air Force" --- # Almost 300,000 People Say They’re Gonna Storm Area 51 ![A tongue-in-cheek Facebook event called "Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us" recently amassed an army of over 200,000 conspirators and meme lovers.]() *\Image: X51 via Flickr/Victor Tangermann\* ## Storm Area 51 A [Facebook event]() called "Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us" has amassed an army of memers, schemers and tinfoil hat-wearing conspirators to raid the top-secret Air Force military base in the middle of Nevada's desert. Over 289,000 users confirmed they're planning to come along, while 314,000 are "interested." It's gotten so big that the event is grabbing the attention of [local]() and even [international]() media. Needless to say, the event itself is a joke, hosted by a Facebook group called "Shitposting cause im \[sic\] in shambles" made up of some 20,000 meme-loving netizens. The group classifies itself as a "religious organization" on the platform. "We will all meet up at the Area 51 Alien Center tourist attraction and coordinate our entry," reads the event description. "If we \[N\]aruto run, we can move faster than their bullets. Lets see them aliens." ## Let's See Them Aliens Area 51 has long been the subject of wild speculation and alien conspiracy theories since it was set up in 1955. The 5,000 square mile base has hosted hundreds of nuclear weapons tests and has served as testing grounds for a range of new stealth aircraft. The event might be a tongue-in-cheek joke, but storming Area 51 is a terrible idea — guards are authorized to "use deadly force" according to a [sign]() that warns would-be trespassers at the outskirts of the base. Whether "\[N\]aruto running" will be enough to successfully dodge their bullets remains to be seen. **READ MORE:** [Nearly 200K People Have Signed Up to Steal Alien Secrets from Area 51 in Late-Summer Raid]() \[*Live Science*\] **More on aliens:** *[Oxford Academic: Invisible Aliens Are Breeding With Humans]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()