--- title: "It’s Back: Facebook Resurrects “Storm Area 51” Event" description: "After being removed by Facebook, the event called \"Storm Area 51\" has been resurrected. Facebook claims it was a \"mistake.\"" date: "2019-08-08" modified: "2019-08-08" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/facebook-accident-storm-area-51-event" categories: - "Future Society" tags: - "air force" - "aliens" - "internet freedom" - "the digest" --- # It’s Back: Facebook Resurrects “Storm Area 51” Event ![After being removed by Facebook, the event called "Storm Area 51" has been resurrected. Facebook claims it was a "mistake."]() *\Image: Shutterstock/Victor Tangermann\* ## It's Back After [being removed]() by Facebook, the event called ["Storm Area 51"]() has been resurrected. But no advanced extraterrestrial technology was behind the move: [according to a spokesperson for Facebook](), the event was removed by "mistake." The [*BBC* reports]() that the founder of the group, Mathew Roberts, received a message on Saturday claiming that his tongue-in-cheek event broke Facebook's community standards — but that the social giant has now restored the group. ## Do It Live Roberts' event called for an army of memelords and alien fanatics to storm the Air Force base in the Nevada desert. The group's description: "Let’s see them aliens." Prior to being removed earlier this week, the tongue-in-cheek event convinced more than [2 million Facebook users]() to join the attack. ## Cash Grab Area 51 has long been the subject of wild speculation — and plenty of memes as well. But in reality, the Air Force base has hosted hundreds of [nuclear weapons tests]() and has served as testing grounds for a range of new [stealth aircraft](). In the end, though, everything online eventually gets monetized. Case in point: you can now buy official [Storm Area 51 merchandise]() on a website linked in the event's description. **READ MORE:** [Facebook briefly removes Area 51 event 'by accident']() \[*BBC*\] **More on the event:** *[Facebook Removes “Storm Area 51” Event]()* ## 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]()