While Tuesday’s statement also attributed many of the sightings to conventional drone flights, it provided no additional details about the nature of the “research” the White House now says some of the drones are believed to have been involved in, or for what “various other reasons” some of the aircraft were allegedly flown.

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Following Tuesday’s briefing, some commentators online argued that the White House’s statement did little to help reduce the confusion surrounding the drone issue since sightings began to be reported late last year.

“This statement on ‘mystery drones’ misses the point,” said skeptical writer and coder Mick West in a posting on X. “Yes, of the actual drones that were observed, they were FAA-authorized or hobbyist drones. But the vast majority of the reported drone sightings in New Jersey were actually, as the FBI and DHS confirmed, misidentified planes.”