Teenagers running away, police gathering and a brown blur that appears to be moving: Video from an outdoor mall in Miami fueled wild claims on social media this week that aliens had landed on Earth. But the truth is much more grounded.
On Monday, a group of about 50 teenagers rioted at Bayside Marketplace, an outdoor mall about 5 miles from South Beach, according to the Miami Police Department.
Michael Vega, public information officer for the Miami Police Department, said teenagers were setting off fireworks, which caused a panic as some people assumed there were shots fired. Four teenagers were arrested.
“Police were dispatched to control the crowd due to the teenagers’ refusal to leave,” Vega said in an email to NBC News. “Some businesses were temporarily closed to allow us to clear the area.”
In the days following the incident, users on social media began speculating about what they described as “Miami Mall aliens”. Some suggested that the police were not responding to teenagers but to aliens. Several people reviewed video of the incident circulating online and claimed they could see an alien figure in the grainy footage. Others immediately posted memes.
Although many reactions online seemed light-hearted, the post shows how quickly and easily misinformation can spread on social media. The response also underscores a surge in interest in extraterrestrial activity, from a congressional hearing last summer about “unidentified aerial phenomena” or “UAPs” to a show in Mexico’s Congress claiming that there were “nonhuman” aliens. Both of those incidents also became prime meme fodder.
However, Vega said aliens had nothing to do with Monday’s incident.
“There were no aliens there,” he wrote in an email. “No airports were closed. Nothing is being snatched from the public. Laugh out loud.”
Nevertheless, by Friday afternoon, “Miami Mall Alien” was trending on the social media site X.
“10 foot aliens/creatures (caught on camera?) fired shots in and out of Miami mall, media is silent, police are covering it up and saying kids were fighting with fireworks, yet that night All police cars and air traffic stopped except for the black army, helicopters…and no media coverage,”
One person posted an AI image of a generic alien holding a shopping bag and joked that it was the “Miami Mall Alien.”
Another person shared a photo of golfer Tiger Woods extending his hand as if to shake another person’s hand, with the caption: “If I was in a Miami mall I would go to the aliens. “
Others commented that if alien sightings were seen just a few days into January then the New Year was sure to be a wild one.
The person wrote, “Now on the 5th day of the New Year, it is a very pleasant experience for people to see aliens in Miami Mall 2024.”
Of course, there were some people who wondered: If there was an alien sighting, where is the proof?
“Everyone has cell phones, but no one has close-up video of an 8-10 foot alien near a Miami mall?”. an X user wrote.
