11 Years Ago Great Falls Was Hacked By A Fake Zombie Alert
11 years ago on February 11th Great Falls became national news. I was working so I didn't see it, but I sure heard about it in the days following. I'm sure all of you heard about it as well. I'm of course talking about the time the KRTV & The CW were hacked and a Emergency Alert System warning was sent out saying that Zombies were over taking Great Falls.
February 11th in 2013 people at home watching The Steve Wilkos Show got quite a shock when the EAS alarm went off and the following message was displayed and heard.
Now most people realized it was a joke. There were a few calls to the Great Falls Police Department, though mostly they were just joking. In a Reuters article Great Falls Police Department spokesman Bill Hunter at the time was quoted saying, “We didn’t get any serious calls on it.”
Reuters wasn't the only one who picked up on the story either. USA Today, Huffington Post, The Guardian were just a few of the national outlets that picked up the story.
It wasn't just Great Falls either, it seems there were numerous other states that were victim to the hoax. Michigan, California, Utah and New Mexico all reported having a zombie alert take over their airwaves as well.
I tried to find if anyone was caught for this and I couldn't find anything sadly. I also don't remember anyone coming forward either. Not surprising as I'm sure a pretty hefty fine would have come their way.
All in all it was a pretty funny hoax that was relatively harmless and it put Great Falls in the national spotlight if only for a brief moment.
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Gallery Credit: Jessica, Tiny House Listings.com