Remember the alien invasion of Miami on New Year’s Day? A video clip posted online purported to show a 10-foot-tall extraterrestrial lurking outside a shopping mall as a massive police action was taking place.

The footage turned out to be a grainy aerial shot of three officers walking side-by-side — and not a sentient celestial being. But the hysteria reached such proportions that the Miami Police Department was forced to release a statement saying there were “No aliens, UFOs, or ETs. No airports were closed. No power outages.” 

The official rebuke only led to more skepticism.

Similarly, last September, news circled the globe when a UFO enthusiast presented to the Mexican Congress two tiny, mummified 1,000-year-old corpses of non-human beings, or so he claimed.

Biologists and anthropologists were quick to call the stunt “crass” and “simple,” later revealing the figurines were made from human and animal bones with paper and glue. Yet, plenty of people continued to believe.

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