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No Aliens, But One Special Visitor At Area 51

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One of the most anticipated Facebook Events of the year finally came this past weekend. “Storm Area 51” began as a joke online (“they can’t stop us all”), yet quickly became a global sensation. The event for September 20-22 had over 2 million people “attending” on the Facebook event online. In reality only a few thousand people attended “Alienstock” to get their chance at an alien sighting this past weekend, which sadly never occurred. Nevertheless, one attendee did make the weekend a memorable one by interrupting a news report with his Naruto run.

What is “Storm Area 51”?

“Storm Area 51” was created on Facebook back in June by Matty Roberts. The comedic concept was to have as many people “storm” the United States Air Force Training Facility, famous for alien sightings. This event got so much publicity, that they decided to create a music festival called “Alienstock“ in the small town of Rachel, Nevada. The logistics were not well planned however, and no one truly broke into the facility. People who did come for the event however enjoyed an out-of-this-world time! Some attendees even brought fake protest signs, dressed up in shiny and green gear, and bonded over their communal love for aliens.

an "Alien Center" at Area 51.

How Do They Storm Area 51?

As stated previously, the event was both poorly planned and, when it comes down to it, one big fat joke. Roberts suggested that everyone enter the facility by running like “Naruto,” a famous Japanese anime character who runs with his head down and arms behind him.

While no one successfully entered, one guy dubbed “the plunger man” (whose real name is Gary Winthorpe), did manage to get the closest with some fellow attendees. They all charged toward the barricade in Naruto style, only to quickly get stopped by military.

Winthorpe told the local Fox5, “We came out here to raid Area 51 and find the truth about what they’re hiding. We don’t know if it’s aliens, we don’t know if it’s time travel, we don’t know if there’s minions in there.”

News Reporters Get’s A Naruto Backdrop

That wasn’t the last of the Naruto runs of the weekend. The most famous-and now viral- example came during a news report. During the middle of KTNV Channel 13 Las Vegas‘ coverage of the event, one attendee slyly swooped behind reporter Joe Bartel in Naruto-like fashion.

The image soon became a viral video on Twitter, with people claiming this lone runner to be the true hero of this extraterrestrial-less weekend.

If you want to learn more about the hero behind this Naruto run, you can find his video here:

Photos: Pixabay, Youtube: KTNV Channel 13 Las Vegas

A reporter covers the floods in neck-deep water

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Social media has acclaimed the efforts of the Pakistani journalist, Azadar Hussain, for reporting on floods in Punjab while standing in dangerously high waters. The reporter was trying to raise awareness on the rising level of the waters due to the intense rain that was falling in a province in Pakistan.

Monsoon season

Torrential rains had been heavily falling on the area for days. It has already caused at least 28 deaths, children included. Such rainfalls are pretty common during monsoon season in south Asia. That’s why Hussain decided to prove the importance of the floods.

The video

He stood there, almost fully submerged in the water, and reported on what was going on. The video was posted by Pakistan’s GTV on Youtube under the caption of “Pakistani reporter in floodwater, risks his life in danger to perform his duties”.

The video has since created a massive uproar. People have been commenting all sorts of things. Many praised the man’s creativity and braveness, while others were concerned about his safety. Here are some examples.

This is definitely what we like to call “in-depth” reporting.