Rumors swirl about balloons, UFOs as officials stay mum
Misleading claims about the airborne devices have also prompted violent threats, according to an analysis by the SITE Intelligence Group, a firm that tracks extremist rhetoric online. Sailors assigned to Assault Craft Unit 4 prepare material recovered off the coast of Myrtle Beach, S.C., in the Atlantic Ocean from the shooting down of a Chinese high-altitude balloon WASHINGTON: Maybe they came from China. Maybe from somewhere farther away. A lot farther away. The downing of four aerial devices by U.S. warplanes has touched off rampant misinformation about the objects, their origin and their purpose, showing how complicated world events and a lack of information can quickly create the perfect conditions for unchecked conjecture and misinformation. The presence of mysterious objects high in the sky doesn't help. “There will be an investigation and we will learn more, but until then this story has created a playground for people interested in speculating or stir...