‘Storm Area 51’ event disappears from Facebook

More than two million signed up before page was removed

A souvenir shop that houses a brothel in an annex beckons visitors near a junction that leads to Area 51 on July 19, 2014 at Amergosa Valley, Nevada. Area 51 is another name for a portion of Edwards Air Force Base that UFO enthusiasts have theorized contains evidence of visitors from outer space (Getty)

An event encouraging people to storm Area 51 and find the mysterious base's secrets have disappeared from Facebook.

More than two million people had signed up to gang together and "see them aliens" by storming the base. The event had become one of the most popular on Facebook, serving as a popular hub for discussions of extraterrestrials and sharing alien jokes.

"We will all meet up at the Area 51 Alien Center tourist attraction and coordinate our entry," the description on the page read. "If we Naruto run, we can move faster than their bullets. Let's see them aliens."

But the event has now been removed.

Initially, Facebook had offered little comment on the event. The US Air Force had strongly recommended to people that they don't attempt to break in, but there had been no concerted effort to shut it down.

However, in recent days the page appears to have been taken down. Its creator, Mathew Roberts, was told it happened for "violating community standards" but is still mystified about why exactly it happened.

"I never got any reason behind the event being removed," Mr Roberts told CNET. "I created a sister event which amassed about 15,000 people before being taken down for no reason."

Mr Roberts said the removal had caused a problem because he had actually intended to host a festival on 20 September, the day the page had joked the raid would take place. That event would allow people to commemorate the event without being dangerously close to the dangerous base.

"I think it's pretty reckless of Facebook, especially because I'm trying to direct people away from storming the base," Mr Roberts said. "And now I've lost my entire audience."