Posters on the subway about how to protect yourself in the event of a radiation accident do not prove that “the US is preparing for something”

Statements

The message on social networks: “The US is preparing for something. So, billboards have already appeared in the New York subway with advice on how to survive after radiation” (HERE).

Verdict

The photographed poster is part of an advertising campaign by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to raise public awareness of what to do in the event of a radiation emergency. This ad campaign does not prove that the US is preparing to detonate a nuclear device domestically. September is National Emergency Preparedness Month in the U.S., so similar actions are common around the country this time of year.

Lie detector comment

What appears to be a photo taken from the subway is being shared on social networks. It shows a poster explaining what to do in the event of a radiation accident. The profusely illustrated poster gives short bullet points that, in the event of a radiation hazard, one should immediately remove and dispose of contaminated clothing, shower, change into clean clothing, and finally help other people and animals. The people who shared the photo claim that it was taken in the subway of New York City, USA and it proves that the country is preparing for something.

The frightening-sounding comments are connected with the recent escalation of Russian rhetoric about the possible use of a nuclear device and the possible response of the United States to this.

However, while the poster is real and was indeed photographed in a subway, as Lie Detector was able to find out, it was not in New York, but in the neighboring state of New Jersey. The poster on public transport did not appear in preparation for a nuclear apocalypse, but simply to commemorate National Emergency Preparedness Month, an event held in the US every September.

On this occasion, 2022 was launched. radiation awareness advertising campaign, of which the poster shown in the photo is a part. As announced on the website of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, the purpose of the advertising campaign is to inform the public as widely as possible about what actions should be taken in the event of a radiation accident.

“A radiation emergency can be a dirty bomb, a transportation accident involving radioactive materials, an accident at a nuclear power plant, or the explosion of an improvised nuclear device. According to the US Department of Homeland Security, tens of thousands of lives could be saved if the public knew what actions to take during a radiation accident,” reads the article introducing the campaign.

The same article also explains that the campaign uses artwork from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and that the ad will appear on New Jersey Transit trains and buses and PATH trains and stations, further proving that the posters are part of this ad campaign, as they are the same schedules can also be found on the official website of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (HERE), and the interior of the subway shown in the photo corresponds to the interior design of PATH subway trains (HERE).