ARKANSAS (KFSM) – AT&T U-verse customers in Arkansas reported seeing an emergency alert on their television screens on Friday morning (Oct. 24).
Multiple viewers posted on the 5NEWS Facebook page saying they had channels muted and an emergency alert displaying on their TV screens for a short while.
The alert actually came from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and had nothing to do with AT&T, according to Anita Smith with AT&T Arkansas.
“A nationally syndicated radio show not affiliated with AT&T accidentally sent a message over the National Emergency Alert System. This false message was carried across our network, as well as some others, as part of the emergency alert system. We apologize to our customers,” AT&T said in a statement.
FEMA released their own statement on the incident saying, “This morning, there was an inappropriate playing of the national emergency alert notification tones on a syndicated radio broadcast. There is not a national emergency. Today’s broadcast triggered alert notification in states where the alert has been played. Certain alerts, like the one broadcast today, are designed to be automatically picked up and rebroadcasted by other radio and TV stations.”
