Comment on Californians Say X Blocked Them From Viewing Amber Alert About Missing 14-Year-Old
Rivalarrival@lemmy.today 4 days agothis is really just a problem with government agencies/departments using social media websites as primary avenues of delivering information.
I guarantee that this was not a “primary avenue” for delivering this information.
someguy3@lemmy.ca 4 days ago
I believe the alert popped up on the phone with the link, which people could not see.
Rivalarrival@lemmy.today 4 days ago
Ah. I see. The alerts were conveyed directly to phones via the Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) and Emergency Alert System (EAS), which included a link to their Xhitter account.
Every Amber alert I’ve seen has included location, name of the adult, license plate, vehicle description, a description of the child, etc. Most include come kind of link that (in my experience) doesn’t actually provide any further detail.
Have we confirmed that this alert included only the link to Xhitter, without the other data? If that is actually the case, it’s not just the CHP’s failure, but also the managers of the WEA and EAS systems: They aren’t supposed to activate those systems without the actual message.
floofloof@lemmy.ca 4 days ago
Rivalarrival@lemmy.today 4 days ago
On an android phone, under Settings, you can view past emergency alerts, including AMBER alerts. I’d like to see a screenshot of this particular alert.
If that alert does not include the actual information, I’ll be happy to pick up my pitchfork. Hell, I’ll even start boiling some tar, but I don’t have a good supplier for feathers…
Until then, what the author is describing does not correspond to my own experiences receiving AMBER alerts, and seems to contradict WEA and EAS policies. I’m open to being proven wrong, I’m just skeptical.
If CHP is only sending Xhitter links, there are problems with CHP, EAS, and WEA, as none of them are supposed to be using the systems that way.
If, instead, they are providing the data and the Xhitter link, the problem is with user expectations.
someguy3@lemmy.ca 3 days ago
Jesus the article and everyone is telling you what happened and you just won’t accept it.
Rivalarrival@lemmy.today 3 days ago
ACKSUALLY, I did accept it, just as soon as someone posted a screenshot of the alert in question. Which I promptly posted in several other comments.
Given the abhorrent state of modern journalism, the lack of a simple screenshot that would have conclusively demonstrated the problem, “skepticism” was justified.