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……”

  • Kiernian@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    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.