From the night of 19/6 to the morning of 20/6, mobile phones belonging to thousands of people in at least 7 cities across Brazil received unusual notifications from the Civil Defense Alert system. This system is typically used to issue warnings for floods, landslides, storms, and other urgent situations.
Some of these notifications contained nonsensical content or phrases like "hatred of humanity". Others delivered messages resembling the opening scene of a low-budget science fiction film.
The fake warning received by Brazilians on the morning of 20/6. Video: X/nexta_tv
"Protect yourselves: Aliens attack. O humanity, we have arrived" was the message some residents in Belo Horizonte, the capital of Minas Gerais state, received. Another version warned of an impending tornado in the metropolitan area.
Many were shocked and confused after receiving the alerts. Residents in Belo Horizonte called the National Civil Defense, fire department, and police seeking explanations after receiving the notifications.
Some stated they woke family members and sought safer rooms for shelter due to the tornado warning. Others quickly suspected a hoax upon reading the part about aliens.
Brazil's National Civil Defense swiftly issued an explanation, stating the alert system had been compromised. A third party remotely issued fake notifications to several areas of the country. Technical teams shut down the system at 1:30 AM on 20/6, while federal police launched an investigation.
"This was likely a hacker attack," Brazil's National Civil Defense stated.
After initial bewilderment, many Brazilians created satirical images on social media about the incident. Others did not find it humorous, noting that the system is intended for real disaster alerts, and fake messages in the middle of the night could easily cause panic.
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A female student uses a mobile phone at a school in Planaltina, Brazil in March. Photo: AFP
The incident occurs as the topic of extraterrestrial life garners significant attention. Last week, the Pentagon released more declassified documents on unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP), its term for unidentified flying objects (UFOs). These documents included witness accounts, photos, and videos of unexplained objects.
However, these documents came with the familiar warning that unexplained objects do not equate to extraterrestrial origin. The Pentagon affirmed the documents contain no confirmed evidence of alien life, alien technology, or government cover-ups.
By Pham Giang (Reuters, RT, G1 Globo)
