I think there actually were drones (even if most reports were aircraft), but that they weren't nefarious (my theory is a commercial LIDAR mapping project) based on the fact that the sitings dropped precipitously when flight restrictions were declared.
I was following it pretty closely for anthropological reasons. There wasn't a single clear photo of a drone, just planes and helicopters, over the most densely populated area in the country. It was the same as UFOs. Not one clear photo. The subreddit kinda went over the deep end and started talking about holograms, sentient orbs, spirituality, because what else can you talk about without any falsifiable evidence? Fascinating example of modern mass hysteria.