UFO sightings near Area 51 spiked around when the Air Force was testing secret aircraft there. When the military heard that there were rumors that there are aliens and alien technology inside the base, they started boosting these rumors to help cover up their actual secret (human) technology.
So in a twist of irony, the people who believe there was a big government conspiracy to cover up aliens and spaceships are themselves victims of an actual government conspiracy to make them believe that...
@vurpo I've seen a UFO before, but it was near a military base. And that base was decommissioned. But living near it, nothing changed except for less standard flyovers, so it was obviously still in full operation.