A US military unit was forced to apologize to UFO fans and alien enthusiasts for a tweet that suggested the government is ready to use B-2 nuclear-capable bombers to protect the secrets held inside the classified Area 51 facility.
Jumping on the hype train headed for the secretive air force base in Nevada desert, the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS) flexed its meme muscles on Friday by tweeting a photo of a B-2 stealth bomber, accompanied by a chilling warning:
The last thing #Millennials will see if they attempt the #area51raid today.
However, someone higher-ranking apparently got worried that the bomber joke could fly over the heads of UFO hunters, or offend millennials, and rushed to delete the meme, issuing an apology and distancing the unit from the actions of the employee in charge of the DVIDSHub account.
The original tweet did trigger some controversy and criticism, but went largely unnoticed amid an avalanche of memes posted under the viral hashtag – while some even found it amusing and said the author deserves a promotion.
Meanwhile, the viral prank that promised to see up to two million alien hunters breach the gates of Area 51 ended with a whimper instead of a bang, drawing only a few dozen enthusiasts. A couple of people got themselves arrested for disorderly conduct, but the US government did not have to deploy strategic bombers or use any of the alien-designed crowd control technology it might be hiding.
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