
The Trump administration will send messages to more than 200 million U.S. cellphones on Wednesday testing a previously unused presidential alert system that aims to warn the public in the event of a national emergency.
The test message was originally scheduled for September but was pushed back to Wednesday at 2:18 p.m. EDT. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which will send the alert, said the messages would bear the headline “Presidential Alert,” and that phones will make a loud tone and have a special vibration.
The test has been scheduled to ensure that the alert system would work in the event of a national emergency. The message will read: “THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed.” A separate alert on TV and radios will be issued at 2:20 p.m..
The tests have drawn a lot of attention on social media in part because of President Donald Trump’s propensity for sending tweets to his 55 million followers.