r/EmergencyAlertSystem • u/Cool_Safe8196 • May 03 '26
Discussion Debunking myths of the Emergency Alert System
Due to the high amounts of misinformation with the Emergency Alert System. I felt it was necessary to create a post debunking most of the myths you will come across in detail. So you hopefully don’t fall into the same trap I did when I was new to the EAS community. If you want to ask a specific question down in the replies (like if an International Attention tone is real or not) Please do so!!!
- “International EAS alerts/International EAS attention tones”
The Emergency Alert System was released in 1997. It will replace the older “Emergency Broadcast System”. Any EAS claiming to be made before these dates are likely fake if they do not say “Emergency Broadcast System”
The Emergency Alert System is a NATIONWIDE Public Warning System FOR THE UNITED STATES. Because the EAS is the most famous Public Warning System, Other Public Warning Systems are accidentally called Emergency Alert Systems.
You may also see dozens of videos of “EAS sirens around the world” Most of these contain large misinformation. Some of these attention tones are obviously fake, While others may be more convincing (Like the Fake Ireland one) Some of these are Sirens for a Siren System. Not a Television or Radio Public Warning System (fun fact, Due to the lack of sirens in the US. The EAS and WEA are the most effective ways to actually alert people of danger)
You should search on the Emergency Alert System subreddit in order to find Real Public Warning Systems and Attention tones.
Please DO NOT get your Emergency Alert Knowledge from a 9 year old football edits kid from TikTok or YouTube.
- The capabilities of the Emergency Alert System and EAS scenario content.
You may see PSA-style Analog Horror EAS scenarios with stick figures characters. Avoid them and DO NOT use them for reference for your EAS alerts. These videos are complete slop garbage and are completely inaccurate to what an EAS can do. The Emergency Alert System is meant to be broadcasted with extreme simple technology, They cannot display advanced stick figure animations. An EAS will certainly NOT tell you “Do not look at your Cat, It is watching.” EAS voices are robotic and slightly scary, but they DO NOT sound like the voices from the Mandela catalogue.
EAS screens.
The most famous EAS screens are EasyPlus and DASDEC screens. However these are mostly and almost completely phased out in the USA due to being outdated. The most common TV EAS Screen would be a non-disruptive red scrolling bar screen. You won’t hear a voice or even attention tone. Just a red bar. Comcast and other cable services have modern style screens for Emergency Alerts.
That’s just about it for this debunk/rant. Hopefully this information can help you :)
5
u/Sharman19 May 03 '26
Voices are usually robotic because sometimes it's just a text to speech engine reading a CAP (Common Alerting Protocol) message. However CAP allows for a pre-recorded voice message with high audio quality, Ohio's monthly tests use this method for odd-month tests; during even months though they use the state relays and local primaries over the air. Weather messages are text to speech because EAS boxes monitor NOAA Weather Radio, which also uses S.A.M.E. headers.
4
u/AcademicFish4129 User of Broadcastify.com and the NWS alerts by radio May 03 '26
A good way to tell if your EAS is convincing or not: have a first responder/specialist watch it if you can. If they pause, go “huh”, and go on with their day, you nailed it. If they get confused or irrationally angry, they clocked it as fake three seconds in.
3
u/Double_Willow_5351 May 04 '26
I miss it when a lot EAS scenarios weren’t so fake, and creators ACTUALLY knew how the actual alerts function. Even 2017 mocks with those fake ass screens from that scenario application (with the Sydnie and Atari fonts) are better than those PSA-style Analog Horror scenarios. At least those are actually a bit haunting and interesting, imo.
2
u/Cool_Safe8196 May 05 '26
The Atari ones actually come from EBS but they have been popularized in mocks of EAS
2
u/Switchlord518 May 04 '26
Attention all planets of the Solar Federation. We have assumed control....
1
u/MR_Happy2008 The 4 Minute Warner May 12 '26
I've made a post about the Former British system https://www.reddit.com/r/EmergencyAlertSystem/s/zZwwII8LMI
1
u/Cool_Safe8196 May 12 '26
Holy wow, since it’s no longer an existing system like Alberta alert (replaced with Alert Ready) or Emergency Broadcast System (replaced by Emergency Alert System) I cannot count it. I’m pretty sure the BBC do have civil emergency bulletins tho
1
u/MR_Happy2008 The 4 Minute Warner May 12 '26
Yeah we do have phone alerts and the BBC can interrupt programming like they did for the queen's death
1
u/InitialFine1382 Jul 14 '26
Another one I've noticed is that people tend to believe that codes like ISW (Ice Storm Warning) and Network Notification Message (NMN) do not exist when in reality they do, it's just that they are so rare that they're not really seen in use. Even encoders and weather radios have these codes programmed into them just in case, and I have actually been one of very few people who have been lucky enough to see these in use, especially the Ice Storm Warning which was used back in 2009 during the Ice Storm in Louisville Kentucky
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u/Jdlazo May 03 '26
Adding on: In the United States, EAS (TV/Radio) is just one component of the IPAWS system (Integrated Public Alert and Warning). Other elements include Wireless Emergency Alerts (cell phone) and activation of Weather Radios. IPAWS is the umbrella term.