There’s plenty of public uncertainty about who’s controlling drones spotted over the East Coast. One idea does dominate, though: the public suspects the U.S. government is keeping information from them. 

Americans have a range of theories about who is controlling the drones, with the U.S. government the most suspected, but no one answer dominates. 

Just over half the country is paying attention to the story, and the more they’re paying attention to it, the more likely they are to suspect the U.S. government is controlling the drones.

Either way, about half of Americans consider the drones a threat to the U.S. This is particularly so among those who think the drones are being controlled by a foreign country or government. 

This CBS News/YouGov survey was conducted with a nationally representative sample of 2,244 U.S. adults interviewed between December 18-20, 2024. The sample was weighted to be representative of adults nationwide according to gender, age, race, and education, based on the U.S. Census American Community Survey and Current Population Survey, as well as 2024 presidential vote. The margin of error is ±2.4 points.

Anthony Salvanto

Anthony Salvanto, Ph.D., is CBS News’ executive director of elections and surveys. He oversees the CBS News Poll and all surveys across topics and heads the CBS News Decision Desk that estimates outcomes on election nights