I haven't seen anyone post this idea yet, unless I missed it...
I believe in a pretrib rapture of the Christian church (I know not everyone does...). When millions of people suddenly vanish from the earth, satan will need a viable plan to "explain" it, to cover up what really happened. As the OP noted, "the subject is a rising star throughout the world." More people are getting used to the idea that aliens just might exist. If the devil can convince enough people that aliens are real, when the rapture happens, he'll start spreading a story that aliens came and took all the "bad" people away.... and people just might buy it.
Not saying I'm right, but it seems plausible... The devil will have to come up with -something- to cover up the rapture.