Watch the documentary "Hypernormalisation" by Adam Curtis. He goes into this phenomena in-depth.

From BBC:

…but, surprise, surprise, not all may be as it seems. In the 80s, theories about UFOs were everywhere. There were stories about leaked secret US government documents, which proved the existence of alien lifeforms visiting Earth. It was a big cover-up.

Curtis suggests that what was really happening here was a double bluff.

“…the reality was even stranger. The American government was making it all up. They had created a fake conspiracy to mislead.”

Curtis shows that what these misdirected hicks were really looking at were not UFOs at all, but a new breed of smart American weapons that were being developed as a deterrent to Russia.

“The government wanted to keep the weapons secret, but their appearance couldn’t always be disguised.”

He shows that certain individuals were even identified to help spread these rumours. If true, it’s a truly bizarre case of a government creating a red herring to distract the public from some agenda.

Sound familiar?