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Americans to Receive Cell Phone Alert From Trump in First National Test

If all goes according to plan, Americans nationwide will receive an alert on their cell phones from President Trump on October 3. Scheduled for 2:18 p.m. Eastern Time, it will be the first test of a national alert system that will let any president issue a warning about a national crisis.

“The fact that you can’t turn this alert off, that it will be something that will arrive on your phone whether you like it or not, I think was perhaps upsetting and concerning to some people,” says Andy Whitehouse, lecturer in political communications for the Programs in Strategic Communication at Columbia University’s School of Professional Studies.

The test will set off the same loud tone used for other alerts. If your cell phone is on and you have service, you will likely receive it and cannot stop it, according to CBS News.

Read the full story at CBS News and learn more about the Programs in Strategic Communication at Columbia University’s School of Professional Studies.