What is the controversy behind the emergency alert test? Conspiracy theories abound
After FEMA declared it was conducting a nationwide emergency alert test on cellphones and other devices, conspiracy theories were quick to emerge.
Conspiracy theorists are having a field day after the Federal Emergency Management Agency or FEMA declared a plan to conduct a set of tests for its Emergency Alert System, which plays on TV and radio, and Wireless Emergency Alerts on Wednesday, Oct. 4.
According to FEMA, this test will start at approximately 2:20 p.m. ET, with the primary objective of pinpointing any potential vulnerabilities within the system. During this test, an emergency alert will be simultaneously broadcast to all radios, televisions, and privately-owned mobile phones across the country.
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After FEMA announced its plan, conspiracy theories quickly sprouted, given both the nature and the scope of the test.
What is the controversy behind the emergency alert test?
Social media has been abuzz with theories and warnings regarding the emergency alert test, a lot of them related to covid-19 vaccines. Some people have issued dire warnings, saying that the test will send a signal to cellphones all over the country to activate nanoparticles such as graphene oxide that have been introduced into people’s bodies. This is related to long-debunked theories about the contents of the vaccine.
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Conspiracy theorists insist that these materials inserted into people can interact with wireless communications technology and will enable the government to control people.
Scientists have already explained that graphene oxide is not part of the formulation of the covid-19 vaccine, nor can they be “activated” in the way the conspiracists are suggesting.
“You can’t ‘activate’ graphene oxide,” California Institute of Technology professor Julia Greer wrote Cincinnati.com. “What does that even mean?”
FEMA also discounts any nefarious objectives regarding their systems test, which they conduct on a regular basis as required by law.
“The purpose of the Oct. 4 test is to ensure that the systems continue to be effective means of warning the public about emergencies, particularly those on the national level,” said FEMA in a joint statement with the Federal Communications Commission which is assisting in the tests.