Misinformation is spreading online about a government emergency alert test this weekend—help challenge it. 

21 Apr 2023 | Full Fact's weekly news
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FACT CHECKED
Sunday's emergency alert test

Ahead of the government testing out an emergency alert on every phone connected to 4G or 5G in the UK this weekend at 3pm on Sunday 23 April, we have seen bad information about the emergency alert shared thousands of times online.

Misinformation about this alert may lead to unnecessary alarm, and in some instances, may even cause people to opt out of future alerts (as many online have claimed they already have) based on incorrect information.

The facts:
* The emergency alert will not access your personal data ([link removed]) . When an alert is triggered, all cell towers in the area concerned will broadcast the alert to connected devices. The government doesn’t need to know your location or phone number to do this. The Cabinet Office confirmed to Full Fact that no personal data is collected by the alert.

* The alert will not be a text message you need to reply to ([link removed]) , but will be a notification that will need to be acknowledged before you can keep using your phone as normal. It will include a website link containing further information.

* Emergency Alerts won’t match personal data with information collected during the pandemic ([link removed]) . Claims on social media suggesting that the emergency alert system will allow personal data to be collected, and that this will be matched with data collected when people signed into venues during the Covid-19 pandemic, are not true.
The government website describes the alert as “one-way” and confirms that the alert does not require the government to know any individual phone numbers. Since no data is collected by the Emergency Alert system, it isn’t possible for it to be matched with personal data collected during the pandemic.

* The emergency alert test will not ‘breach GDPR’ ([link removed]) . When an alert is triggered, mobile phone masts broadcast it to every compatible phone and tablet within range. The government won’t be using your personal data, like your mobile phone number, to do this.

* The alert is not an “activation signal” to activate the “pathogen in the shot”. ([link removed]) We’ve seen claims on social media that the emergency alert test is an “activation signal” to activate the “pathogen in the shot”. This appears to be a reference to the Covid-19 vaccines. There’s no way a signal from a cell tower could “activate” a pathogen or vaccine materials including the Covid-19 vaccine.
Dr Al Edwards, associate professor in biomedical technology at the University of Reading, told Full Fact: “There is no mechanism known to physics or biology that could connect radio signals set by mobile phone data systems, to the biological or chemical materials found in vaccines.”

Stop the spread of bad information

Help us challenge misleading claims this weekend—share and give more people access good information.
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Full Fact is hiring two new roles to join our communications team. This is your last weekend to apply!

Social Media Editor, ([link removed]) £36,700–41,700 per annum
Help us reach millions of people with good, reliable information. We’re looking for an expert in social media to help us tackle the spread of misleading claims, hold those responsible for account, and engage and grow our audience of supporters.

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Millions of people want to do something to improve standards of honesty in public debate. With an election on the horizon, we’re looking for an expert in digital campaigns to help us mobilise them.

Both roles are remote first, with an office available in Central London and regular team meetings in the office.

Closing date for both roles is Monday 24 April 2023.
FACT CHECK


** Official death data doesn't tell us whether junior doctors' strikes cost lives ([link removed])
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An article on the front page of the Telegraph on Friday 14 April claimed that strikes by junior doctors in March were part of the reason for a rise in the number of “excess deaths” observed at the time.

However, the British Medical Association (BMA), a trade union that represents the doctors, said that strikes were not “the root cause” and “there was no change in mortality trends during strike action”.

In fact, from the data available, it is not possible to say whether the strikes in England on 13-15 March had any effect on deaths at the time.

Although the number of excess deaths rose compared with the weeks before, it rose to a level that has often been seen in recent months. In England, the number of deaths also remained at a similar level in the fortnight after the strike period that the Telegraph considered.

Meanwhile in Wales, the number of excess deaths rose in a similar way at the same time, even though there was no doctors’ strike. The Telegraph noted this when quoting the BMA later on in its article, and the BMA also mentioned it in its press release.
What does the data tell us? ([link removed])
FACT CHECK


** List of 'Communist Rules for Revolution' has been widely debunked ([link removed])
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A screenshot shared in a tweet by Andrew Bridgen MP (a former Conservative MP who currently sits as an independent after having had the whip withdrawn earlier this year) purports to show a list of “Communist Rules For Revolution”.

Mr Bridgen shared it with the words: “These rules were written in 1919. Over 100 years later people have intrinsically not changed that much. We should all read and study this, it must be resisted at all cost.”

This list dates back several decades, and has been widely labelled a hoax.

This document has been shared in various forms, primarily in the United States, over more than half a century. But there’s little evidence to suggest that it is a genuine “Communist” document, and its origins have been repeatedly debunked by various sources over the years.

If an MP makes a false or misleading claim on social media, they should correct this quickly in a clear and transparent manner, including on the same platform where the claim was made. We’ve contacted Mr Bridgen about his tweet and will update this article if he responds.
A historical hoax? ([link removed])
MORE FACT CHECKS
Also this week...
* The UK is not being flooded with contaminated drugs ([link removed])
* The HAARP research facility didn't produce peculiar clouds ([link removed])
* No evidence Bill gates talked about putting 'vaccines in our food supply' ([link removed])
* AirPods haven't been shown to be dangerous ([link removed])

Read our latest fact checks ([link removed])
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[link removed]'t%20fall%20for%20bad%20information%20about%20the%20emergency%20alert%20test%20this%20weekend%2C%20via%20%40FullFact:&utm_source=Full+Fact+Newsletter&utm_campaign=96b6b1a866-Emergency+alert+-+21+Apr+-+Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_af27c25bd1-96b6b1a866-170028597 https%3A%2F%2Ffullfact.org%2Fonline%2Femergency-alert-respond-personal-data%2F Tweet ([link removed]'t%20fall%20for%20bad%20information%20about%20the%20emergency%20alert%20test%20this%20weekend%2C%20via%20%40FullFact:&utm_source=Full+Fact+Newsletter&utm_campaign=96b6b1a866-Emergency+alert+-+21+Apr+-+Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_af27c25bd1-96b6b1a866-170028597 https%3A%2F%2Ffullfact.org%2Fonline%2Femergency-alert-respond-personal-data%2F)
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All the best,
Team Full Fact

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