I can see why you think so, but I can't believe that. If that's the case, then that means they saw a meteor at 1 AM and decided in that moment they could capitalize on it? Nah, that just doesn't make sense. I can believe that they might have decided that afterward, when they started getting press attention, but I think the 911 call at least is "genuine", meaning that they were scared and believed what they were saying even if it wasn't actually true.
I’m with you. I kinda believe they thought something was going on, freaked themselves out and told the world. What happened likely isn’t true but they believed it while it was happening. Who knows…I mean there’s also the circle in the sand / dirt to discuss…if they did that intentionally for clout, then they can go to hell.