Everything You Need To Know About The Raid On Area 51, A Real-Time Meme

It was all fun and games back in late June, when nearly a million people RSVP’d to a Facebook event called, “Storm Area 51, They Can’t Stop All of Us.” As has become common among Millennials and Gen Zers, a dark humored joke turned into half-hearted suggestions that evolved into an actual plan to be carried out by the millions of attendants.

As of right now, over two million people have RSVP’d to the Facebook event, which has been taken down by Facebook and disowned by its creator. The link has now been repurposed to promote a tour to meet the guys who “forced the government to respond to a meme.”  

Because the event was born out of a joke, and we can assume many RSVPs are in on it, there’s no telling how many people actually plan on showing up. So if you couldn’t swing the vacation days to Naruto run at Area 51 or if, like us, you live for the spectacle and can’t think of a better way to witness this historic (or not-so-historic) moment than from the comfort of your own duvet, do not worry. The revolution will be televised, or at least streamed on the internet, so you can watch this meme play out in real-time. 

Area 51 belongs to the US Department of Defense and storming, raiding, or trespassing of any kind is not advisable. According to the Associated Press, about 75 people showed up outside the gates of Area 51 today and the live streams suggest that a small crowd still stands there. Some call this an embarrassment while others focus on the bright side. Nobody has tried to storm the gates and there was only one arrest – a Dutch Youtuber and his friend.

Some nearby towns have been hosting on-theme festivals and musical events: In Rachel, Nevada the original Facebook event’s creator, Matty Roberts, is hosting Alienstock this weekend. This was expected to be an event of Fyre Festival proportions since the town has no supermarket, limited cell service, and only 50 residents, most of them retirees. So the event was swiftly canceled due to “lack of infrastructure, planning, and risk management.”

Roberts then took Alienstock and reincarnated it as a run-of-the-mill EDM festival sponsored by Bud Light at the Downtown Las Vegas Events Center on September 19th. But his co-conspirator back in Rachel is carrying on with its own “Alien-Stock” party and it starts today.

Twitter will offer up-to-date memes and video footage as events unfold in Nevada. But if you want a live stream you can pull up on your screen and play in the background all day, YouTube has you covered. You need only search “storm Area 51 Live” to find live streams. There you will find live streams from the folks who are out there and in the trenches. 

Many have noted that storming Area 51 is a death wish since this area belongs to the US Armed Forces and they will protect themselves and the US government’s property from any kind of siege or invasion, even if it is a bunch of memesters doing Naruto runs.

Since 1989, Area 51 has been haunted by rumors of its connections to extraterrestrial activity and our government’s not-so-secret involvement. In pop culture, Area 51 has been a symbol of  distrust of government and its the lack of transparency. An Air Force spokeswoman told the Washington Post that Area 51 is nothing but “an open training area where we train American armed forces.” But that’s what a government that hides aliens would say.