There’s no need to panic
Everyone in the US received an emergency alert from President Donald Trump on their phone on Wednesday afternoon.
Well, everyone was supposed to, let’s clarify that. It was fully intended and not a case of Trump getting fried chicken grease all over his fingers and accidentally sending the word “loser” to the entire country.
It’s a test of a new alert system, the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System, that’s supposed to be used in specific circumstances to communicate with the public.
The alert attempted to send the message to every phone in the US operating on a network run by a carrier opting into the Wireless Emergency Alert system.
It is the first time a text service has been tested. TV and radio alerts have been tested before.
The content of the message made it clear that the message is only a drill. It read: “THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed.”
According to Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA): “The test will assess the operational readiness of the infrastructure for distribution of a national message and determine whether improvements are needed.”
The system is the same one that’s used to warn the public about dangerous weather or missing children.
