Federal Police investigate false Civil Defense alert with term ‘misanthropy’ that generated memes on the internet By Carolina Costa
2 min read
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Thousands of Brazilians in at least seven cities were surprised by an extreme audible alert from Civil Defense during the night of Friday (19) and the early hours of this Saturday (20). The messages contained the word “misanthropy”, completely unrelated to any real scenario of imminent danger.
The National Civil Defense reported that the platform responsible for sending the communications was taken offline at around 1:30 am on Saturday (20). The agency confirmed that there was an invasion and that the false message was sent remotely by an unauthorized person, characterizing a likely cyber attack.
On social media, the incident quickly became a popular topic, generating a wave of memes and jokes. Internet users associated the unusual message with fantasy situations, such as the arrival of aliens or mysterious riddles.
In Belo Horizonte, the capital of Minas Gerais, residents reported having received a strange text that suggested an extraterrestrial invasion, with the words: “Protect yourself: ALIEN ATTACK, HUMANS WE HAVE ARRIVED misanthrope”.
In Rio de Janeiro, the Civil Defense message said: “misanthrope ADRESS RJ donkeys dms pprt”. The content, full of spelling errors and devoid of any emergency context, intensified suspicions of a serious failure or misuse of the system.
The term “misanthropy” refers to the aversion or rejection of humanity, and can also mean social isolation, deep melancholy or sadness. Its inclusion in a public emergency alert is deeply dissonant, highlighting the seriousness of the invasion of a system vital to public security and the potential misinformation it can generate at critical moments.
Official explanation from the National Civil Defense about the incident
The National Civil Defense clarified in a note that the “Defesa Civil Alerta” platform was deactivated in the early hours of Saturday, June 20th, after being hacked. The entity stated that an alert was sent to several regions of the country, under the command of someone external to the National Civil Protection and Defense System.
The message, classified as Extreme Alert, included the word “misanthropy” and, according to the secretariat, “it is probably a hacker attack”.
The National Secretariat for Civil Protection and Defense of the Ministry of Integration and Regional Development announced that it will call the Federal Police to investigate what happened. The agency also promised to take the necessary measures to reactivate the system as soon as possible, only when all safety conditions are fully reestablished.
