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……”

  • yiliu@informis.land
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    1 year ago

    Guys, this is a golden opportunity!

    Get on Right wing forums and tell them this test has been aborted, because all the clever paranoid nutjobs were onto them.

    But, in fact, the test has just been rescheduled to a random time, or rather at random times for the next year or so. Until Biden’s time is up and Trump is declared Supreme Emperor I guess. Because really, if you were really conspiring to send a mind control message, you wouldn’t broadcast the date & time ffs.

    So the only safe thing to do is to turn off their devices, all their devices, and leave them off until after the next election. That includes TVs, of course, and especially Fox News, cuz the Democrats know that Fox News viewers are more cautious and took fewer vaccines, so they’ll have scheduled extra Emergency Broadcasts for them.

    Fast forward a year, in which all the crazies have to go out and live on the real world and talk to real people, and we might just have a sane country back. At the very least, we’d have a year off…