VIDEO: Presidential Alert Test Causes Social Media Stir

SAN ANGELO, TX -- Social media was all abuzz Wednesday afternoon following the Presidential Alert lit up smart phones across the country.  

According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the alert was the first of its kind.  The text message read: “THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed.”

The parent company of what used to be the local newspaper shared a video that warns President Trump can now communicate with everyone using this emergency alert system: 

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The EAS is a national public warning system that provides the President with the communications capability to address the nation during a national emergency. The test is made available to EAS participants (i.e., radio and television broadcasters, cable systems, satellite radio and television providers, and wireline video providers) and is scheduled to last approximately one minute. The test message will be similar to regular monthly EAS test messages with which the public is familiar. The EAS message will include a reference to the WEA test:

“THIS IS A TEST of the National Emergency Alert System. This system was developed by broadcast and cable operators in voluntary cooperation with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Federal Communications Commission, and local authorities to keep you informed in the event of an emergency. If this had been an actual emergency an official message would have followed the tone alert you heard at the start of this message. A similar wireless emergency alert test message has been sent to all cell phones nationwide. Some cell phones will receive the message; others will not. No action is required."

Chron.com is reporting that reactions to the alert were swift. #PresidentialAlert became a trending topic on Twitter, where some said the message interrupted their matinee movie showings.

Others reported getting the notifications pushed to their smartwatches, as still others took the opportunity to crack jokes.

Some said they had received the notification repeatedly, some as often as three to nine times.

The message was sent out over cell phone towers for a 30 minute time period.  It was expected to reach 225 million phones.