US2 min(s) read
Published 13:09 26 Mar 2026 GMT
People think that they have deciphered the truth behind a cryptic video shared by the White House online - and it might be simpler than we first thought.
However, it could be useful if you live in the USA.
In recent times, the White House social media accounts have been creating quite a stir, generating a number of significant headlines.
President Trump himself likes using social media, although it has got him into trouble on a number of occasions.
He also needs to employ a spell-checker sometimes, even if he has deleted some posts in the past.
Now, the official White House account has shared a number of cryptic posts featuring short videos and sent the internet into meltdown.
If it was the release of a new album or a teaser for a film, it would be a great social media strategy.
However, when it’s a government that many believe could be teetering on the brink of a war that could turn into a devastating global conflict, it hits differently.
But, now people think they have decoded one of the mystery messages, and - thankfully - it’s not that deep.
For such a short video, it certainly grasped the public's attention.
It’s a blank dark screen, and the video only lasts for four seconds, punctuated only by a pinging sound, very similar to a phone notification.
But more on that later.
The only visuals are some glitchy graphics that are really hard to figure out.
People were baffled.
One person said: “Has anyone analyzed the audio file yet?”
Another said: “WTH is this new White House hell?”
Well, it looks like some people have found the truth.
It’s a text alert system - and they want you to sign up to receive notifications.
Afterwards, loads of people noticed that the account bios had included: “Text USA to 45470 to receive alerts.”
That would explain the notification sound, anyway.
One person commented: “It looks like it was to get people to go to their social profiles where the descriptions were updated with “Text USA to 45470 to receive alerts” as part of their new EBS [Emergency Broadcast System].”
“It’s the exact same alert tone their new “Text USA to 45470” system uses). It’s an emergency broadcast test,” another said.
So, we’ll have to wait to see if there is any official confirmation, but it does seem as if that’s the answer.
Not as exciting, but also not as existentially terrifying.
