Why fear an automated text message? The reasons are mind-bendingly ludicrous, but surf long-running waves of disinformation around 5G networks, the COVID vaccines, and a nefarious federal government intent on harming its citizens.
“These tests and exercises or drills, if you prefer, are always preceding of, or simultaneous with, an actual created crisis,” the Hawaii-based pastor J.D. Farag said in a recent sermon, clips of which spread on X and TikTok.
“The crisis is first simulated and then created,” said Farag, who has nearly 300,000 subscribers on his “End Times news and global events” YouTube page, before comparing the impending event to the Sept. 11 attacks and COVID-19.
Jason Shurka, a spirituality influencer with around 170,000 followers each on YouTube and Instagram, warned followers in videos last month that an emergency broadcast, “disguised as a test,” would send a high-frequency signal to devices across the country “with the intention of activating graphene oxide and other nanoparticles that have been inserted into billions of human beings around the world through the obvious mediums,” presumably a reference to the COVID-19 vaccine.
On Truth Social, the Trump-backed social media network, one QAnon influencer noted the emergency test coincided with rumored nuclear evacuation drills in Russia and warned, “You and your body have been continuously assaulted by every poison, bioagent, medication, and criminal warfare device (millimeter, x-rays, and microwaves) conceivable, for your entire lives.”
And on TikTok, one since-removed video included the caption, “Y’all get ready. October 4th their [sic] activating Marburg virus through 5 g signal which they are activating on October 4. This will affect anyone who took the shots.” The accompanying video featured anti-vaccine activist Todd Callender warning that a 5G broadcast would cause “liquid nanoparticles to swell” and release heretofore contained pathogens into the bodies of COVID-19 vaccine recipients, causing “a Marburg epidemic” as well as, really, a race of human zombies. (The Marburg virus is a dangerous hemorrhagic fever virus.)
On Reddit, one user shared what they claimed was a text message from their landlord, notifying tenants that “we intend to enter your apartment and shut off your power” for two hours because of the supposed fire risk to “all our multiple appliances that we furnish for all of the apartments.” The same text message warned tenants of a distinct risk for “the Covid vax’d.”
The news isn’t all bad: At least a few conspiracy-theory-minded webizens see the Wireless Emergency Alerts test as a positive development: One Truth Social user, for example, pointed out that the digits in the military times for the announced start and end to the test, 14:20 and 14:50, added up to 17 ― a supposed reference to Q, the 17th letter in the alphabet and a calling card for the QAnon conspiracy theory.
“PROOF The White Hats Control the 10/4 EAS Test!” the post announced, using a slang term for upstanding patriots.
“According to some, White Hats have full control of communications,” another Truth Social user posted separately. “If anything these vibrations will be healing frequencies so I’m told…… I for one am not taking any measures to hide my phone……”
I’m so glad I quit my last job so I don’t have to get brain cancer listening to these conspiracies discussed in earnest from my christofascist manager and her bootlicking sidekick
I was curious if my phone would work in the microwave since it’s supposed to be a farriday cage and I was able to maintain a call and yell at my microwave to carry on a conversation with the person on the other end.
Nah its not a Faraday cage really. Ever wonder why they always have the same weird thick boi door? Its because when you close it, the door acts as a quarter-wave choke for the 2.45Ghz microwave signal (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waveguide_flange#Choke_connection). But this only works for that very specific frequency.
Faraday cages are tuned by the porosity of the material you use to block specific frequencies. So it’s not surprising that the phone worked in the microwave.
Yeah, microwave ovens are designed with a frequency of around 2.4 Ghz. This is somehow an efficient frequency for exciting/energizing water molecules in food and drink. So it should block that common wifi frequency, but now 5 Ghz wifi is common, and 6 Ghz wifi is also available. And a lot of cellular frequencies are under 1 Ghz, so it makes sense that the microwave wouldn’t block those signals.
I’m sad that I didn’t get any of these from people I know.
I blocked a lot of people during the covid scare. And was hoping to prune the list even more.
It must be great being a cult leader. You can make all sorts of ridiculous claims. Every once in w while you’re right and you can go “SEE!? SEEEEE!? I WAS RIGHT, I AM YOUR GOD!” and for the other 99.999% of the times that you’re wrong, you can just claim some other ridiculous reason which then also will be believed.
Even entertaining this theory for a second longer than I really want to, why in these people’s minds would the US government want to destroy itself by turning its citizens into zombies?
💀
Because in this mythology, the Democrats are demonic entities who desire evil for the sake of evil.
“Jason Shurka” is not a spirituality influencer, they are just a conspiracy theorist who co-opted spirituality like the right does with co-opting things and turning them into a message of hate
Spirituality is free of religous dogma and dogma in general as it is a personal practice that the individual can tune to their needs
Don’t let these kinds of people co-opt spirituality and use it as a thinly veiled facade to spread hate and misinformation, bigotry and dogma
Why are they quoting people with smaller social media followings than my grandma? Who gives a shit.
Exponential spread of narrative through degrees of connection.
A source with a small number of followers can still reach a wide audience by their followers sharing with their followers sharing with their followers and so on
That’s how we know Elvis is still alive and LBJ killed JFK.
Well, good thing I just downplayed their importance and everyone will just ignore them.
Why are they quoting people with smaller social media followings than my grandma?
Maybe if your grandma is the moderately famous octogenarian who plays skyrim on camera.
Like, I heard multiple different versions of what this test was going to do yesterday from multiple different people at work.
All of them absurd.
Hell, the LEAST absurd one was “the government will take over our phones and be able to see our cameras, hear everything we do around our phones, and go through all of our apps and files.” to which I said: “If they could do that by sending you a text message, the FBI would never bitch about not being able to get into the iPhone of a suspected criminal ever again.”
That worked for about as long as it took someone to say “Coventry”.
*sigh*
It drives me bonkers that the idiocy has THIS much reach.
Idiocy having SOME reach has been the case for as long as I’ve been alive (I mean, c’mon, what group of friends didn’t have one member whose crazy uncle had a room full of blacklight posters, bongs, and hookahs who went on constantly about how the mayans invented cordless phones?) but social media sure takes the reach to a new and ridiculous level.
I love these morons… “I’m an open heart surgery survivor and I’ve had the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines like 5 times now? 6 times? Need to check my vaccine card… No problems, no Covid either.”
And on TikTok, one since-removed video included the caption, “Y’all get ready. October 4th their [sic] activating Marburg virus through 5 g signal which they are activating on October 4. This will affect anyone who took the shots.” The accompanying video featured anti-vaccine activist Todd Callender warning that a 5G broadcast would cause “liquid nanoparticles to swell” and release heretofore contained pathogens into the bodies of COVID-19 vaccine recipients, causing “a Marburg epidemic” as well as, really, a race of human zombies. (The Marburg virus is a dangerous hemorrhagic fever virus.)
Oh, that’ll be easy to disprove when I eat their face because human flesh is a rare delicacy, not because I’m a zombie. They’ll be so mad, I bet.
Edit: After the FEMA message, I’m definitely liquid nano-particley. Am I going to see the Mars bugs soon?
Hmmm, if I weren’t so lazy I would try and start a counter theory that the nanobots/Marburg Virus/graphine oxide particles are on a 3-year timer by default and if your phone doesn’t go off today and reset their timer, then they will automatically deliver their payload which will turn you into a liberal zombie hunting for MAGA supporters to consume with expensive fancy mustards.
Any one feel like eating a vegan all of the sudden?
I mean, if she’s willing…
Worst zombie apocalypse ever.
“Sorry, too busy bleeding from my eyeballs to bite your face. By the way, can you hand me my lung please? I’d bend over to get it myself but then my colon would fall out.”
Yeah… They’re fucking morons.
Nitpick but the EBS was renamed to EAS ages ago. These people are stuck in 1990.
warning: obnoxious
edit: link not showing up?
sadge. Honestly the homebrewed attention signals back before the EBS and EAS stuff were truly standardized were hilarious.
Russian troll farms are being productive
These dumbfucks are dangerous.
What’s dangerous is having an entire nation of voters this stupid. We need zero tolerance.
while this asinine conspiracy crap is over the top, there is at least one reason to be aware of the EBS test… specifically for people that may be hiding a phone - for many legit reasons, including a domestic violence situation. making sure the phone is completely powered off (and will not alert) for the test may prevent a nasty domestic encounter. that is all.
I’m not going to ask why you thought of this but I want to say you’re a good egg for raising it here.
One love.
A bunch of people who snuck phones into live performances, rehabs, and prisons are about to have an interesting day.
What’s that ringing nose? It’s coming from your ass?
Snape: What is that mysterious ringing noise?
Again, just power the phone off and there is no issue
I bet you a good 50% of people don’t know how to power off an iPhone anymore
It’s the same way you turn off anything, by dropping it in the toilet!
what, you guys don’t store yours in the toilet tank?
Just the burner.
The alarm went off on my iPhone work phone, but not my personal Android. I got the pop-up on both and keep them both on silent.
yeah, the likely only surefire way is to not be connected to the cellular network (phone off).
android (and ios, I imagine) have options buried rather deep in settings to ignore alerts, but who knows how consistently well they work or are retained after an update.
You can opt out of some of this stuff.
I know Amber Alerts can be silenced or disabled from Android, maybe you disabled these as well?
I know there’s a good intention, but when they go off every driver on the road gets a crazy alert blaring at them, I’ve often wondered how often those actually help and how many accidents they cause.
They are very helpful. They are only issued when there is a danger to the child and they have a description and license plate of the suspect vehicle. An amber alert indicates a hot pursuit, and what to try on these in that moment is for regular people to have their eyes open.
No, I understand their intended purpose…
I’m doubting their efficacy and curious about how much harm they cause.
Like, if everytime you heard a knock at your door, you’d shoot thru it with a shotgun. You’d 100% hit every burglar that was polite enough to wait by the door. It is effective.
The downside you’d also shoot everyone else that knocks on your door.
In this analogy it’s the consequences of every driver on a crowded interstate having the alert go off and quickly fumbling their phones to shut it off. All the people driving by schools and playgrounds, or just have their own children in the car going down a winding road.
Then them taking the time to read the text. While still driving, because if they wait till they stop driving… We lose the main reason for sending them.
I wouldnt be surprised if the number of people who have died from car crashes is greater than the number of children who have been found due to an Amber Alert.
But maybe I’m wrong, I just said I’d be curious to see what the numbers backed up.
Ohhh I get you. Damn, that might be true.
That’s our cat and mouse crime strategy.
If you want to disable it on your iPhone, it’s at the very bottom of Settings -> Notifications (under all the apps). You can disable:
- AMBER Alerts
- Emergency Alerts
- Emergency Alerts - Always Play Sound
- Public Safety Alerts
- Test Alerts
Did you have Emergency Alerts enabled but have “Emergency Alerts - Always Play Sound” disabled? If not, I’m curious if anyone who did can report about whether or not it was effective.
I know this is a worldwide phenomenon, but I’ve never met a live one over here (non US). How common are those lunatics over there?
There are several people in my office of ~50 people who called in sick or are trying to avoid phones today.
