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FEMA's 'Presidential Alert' test postponed as some Americans want to disconnect
The wireless emergency alert test was set to go out Thursday before FEMA announced it will be pushed back to Oct. 3.
by Farnoush Amiri / Sep.17.2018 / 8:15 PM ET
Plenty of Americans aren't terribly keen to be receiving text messages from the president, even in an emergency.
And they'll have a reprieve, if only briefly.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency, which oversees the wireless emergency alert (WEA) system, announced that the test that had been scheduled for Thursday will be pushed back to Oct. 3, citing the "ongoing response efforts to Hurricane Florence."
The initial announcement was met with concerns from social media users who stated that a direct message from President Donald Trump to the nation could be used for political purposes, similar to how he uses his official Twitter page.
One online user responded to FEMA's announcement via Twitter, saying, "We don’t need presidential alerts! We already have public emergency alert messaging. This is not necessary!"
We don’t need presidential alerts! We already have public emergency alert messaging. This is not necessary! We should be able to opt out of these messages. Wth would he have to say that local agencies can’t. No!
— JoAnn (@JoAnnNYNY) September 15, 2018
https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/mobile/fema-s-presidential-alert-test-postponed-some-americans-want-disconnect-n910406