{
  "id": "2023-06-02-ohio-state-university-accidental-buckeye-alert",
  "slug": "ohio-state-university-accidental-buckeye-alert-2023-06-02",
  "institution": {
    "name": "The Ohio State University",
    "shortName": "OSU",
    "state": "OH",
    "type": "public-r1",
    "alertSystemName": "Buckeye Alert",
    "enrollment": 61000
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2023-06-02",
    "type": "police-activity",
    "cleryCategory": "test",
    "resolution": "unfounded",
    "headline": "Vendor maintenance error sent a false 'active attacker' alert; corrected within minutes",
    "headlinePublic": "Vendor maintenance error sent a false 'active attacker' alert; corrected within minutes",
    "summary": "On the afternoon of June 2, 2023, [Ohio State's Buckeye Alert system accidentally pushed an 'active attacker' warning](https://www.wosu.org/news/2023-06-02/ohio-state-universitys-emergency-management-issued-false-alert-about-campus) to its Columbus campus after a vendor activated the live system during scheduled maintenance. [Roughly seven minutes later the university issued a correction](https://www.10tv.com/article/news/local/buckeye-alert-ohio-state-confirms-no-active-threat/530-47ccf754-b1e4-4e6f-8a51-c58fb1504950) labeled 'Buckeye Alert TEST,' confirming there was no emergency on any Ohio State campus.",
    "outcome": "No threat existed; the alert was an erroneous activation by Ohio State's emergency-notification vendor during system maintenance. The university apologized and said it was working to ensure the system would operate correctly going forward. The incident occurred during the summer term, when the campus population is reduced; no injuries resulted.",
    "casualties": {
      "killed": 0,
      "injured": 0
    }
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "initial",
      "timestamp": "2023-06-02T13:36:40-04:00",
      "channel": "twitter-x",
      "verbatimText": "This is a test of the Ohio State Buckeye Alert system. This is only a test. There is not an emergency on any Ohio State campus. This is only a test.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://x.com/OSU_EMFP/status/1664687488395522049",
      "sourceDescription": "@OSU_EMFP on X (verbatim)",
      "annotations": [
        "Verified complete alert text on https://x.com/OSU_EMFP/status/1664687488395522049; archiveUrl null.",
        "Official same-day cascade from @OSU_EMFP."
      ],
      "characterCount": 148,
      "archiveUrl": null,
      "confidence": "high",
      "lastUpdated": "2026-07-18"
    },
    {
      "sequence": 2,
      "type": "initial",
      "timestamp": "2023-06-02T14:06:00-04:00",
      "channel": "sms",
      "verbatimText": "Buckeye Alert! Active Attacker reported on/near the OSU Columbus campus. Secure in place: RUN,HIDE,or, as a last resort,FIGHT! Police responding. More info soon",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://www.wosu.org/news/2023-06-02/ohio-state-universitys-emergency-management-issued-false-alert-about-campus",
      "sourceDescription": "WOSU Public Media blockquote of full @OSU_EMFP status 1664695087320936449 (later deleted by OSU)",
      "annotations": [
        "Full text reproduced by WOSU as a blockquote of the official @OSU_EMFP tweet (status 1664695087320936449); original post was later deleted by OSU (\"Previous errant posts have been deleted\")",
        "Spacing/punctuation preserved exactly as quoted: \"RUN,HIDE,or, as a last resort,FIGHT!\" with no spaces after some commas",
        "Also corroborated by 10TV, NBC4, Cleveland19, and r/OSU contemporaneous posts with identical wording"
      ],
      "characterCount": 160
    },
    {
      "sequence": 3,
      "type": "correction",
      "channel": "twitter-x",
      "verbatimText": "Buckeye Alert TEST - We are undergoing system maintenance and our vendor accidently activated our system. There is NO emergency on any Ohio State campus.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://x.com/OSU_EMFP/status/1664696770134413317",
      "sourceDescription": "@OSU_EMFP on X (official OSU Emergency Management, verbatim)",
      "annotations": [
        "Misspelling 'accidently' preserved exactly as transmitted by @OSU_EMFP",
        "Trailing sentence \"There is NO emergency on any Ohio State campus.\" restored from the live official X status (previously omitted from this case as uncorroborated)",
        "Also posted identically by @OSUPOLICE at the same timestamp"
      ],
      "characterCount": 153,
      "timestamp": "2023-06-02T14:13:33-04:00"
    },
    {
      "sequence": 4,
      "type": "initial",
      "timestamp": "2023-06-02T15:45:44-04:00",
      "channel": "twitter-x",
      "verbatimText": "We take our responsibility to enhance safety and keep you informed seriously. Today the Buckeye Alert system malfunctioned while undergoing maintenance. We apologize and are working to ensure the system operates correctly moving forward. Previous errant posts have been deleted.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://x.com/OSU_EMFP/status/1664719970792615936",
      "sourceDescription": "@OSU_EMFP on X (verbatim)",
      "annotations": [
        "Verified complete alert text on https://x.com/OSU_EMFP/status/1664719970792615936; archiveUrl null.",
        "Official same-day cascade from @OSU_EMFP."
      ],
      "characterCount": 278,
      "archiveUrl": null,
      "confidence": "high",
      "lastUpdated": "2026-07-18"
    }
  ],
  "context": "[The Ohio State University](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohio_State_University) is a public R1 university whose Columbus campus enrolls roughly 60,000 students and uses the 'Buckeye Alert' emergency-notification system. On the afternoon of Friday, June 2, 2023, during the summer term, [OSU's emergency-management vendor accidentally activated the live alert system while it was undergoing maintenance](https://www.wosu.org/news/2023-06-02/ohio-state-universitys-emergency-management-issued-false-alert-about-campus), pushing an 'active attacker' warning to the campus at about 2:06 PM EDT. [About seven minutes later](https://www.10tv.com/article/news/local/buckeye-alert-ohio-state-confirms-no-active-threat/530-47ccf754-b1e4-4e6f-8a51-c58fb1504950) the university sent a correction labeled 'Buckeye Alert TEST,' explaining the vendor had 'accidently' activated the system and that there was no emergency on any Ohio State campus. [Local outlets reported](https://www.nbc4i.com/news/local-news/ohio-state-university/ohio-state-university-does-not-have-active-attacker/) the university apologized and said it was working to ensure the system operated correctly going forward. The episode is one of several documented accidental campus-alert activations in this archive, illustrating the operational risk of testing or maintaining a live mass-notification system.",
  "keyFindings": [
    "The correction's preserved misspelling ('accidently') is reproduced identically across multiple independent outlets, marking it as genuine verbatim text even though the initial erroneous alert's exact wording varied between news reproductions",
    "Roughly seven minutes elapsed between the erroneous 'active attacker' push (~2:06 PM EDT) and the 'Buckeye Alert TEST' correction (~2:13 PM EDT) on June 2, 2023",
    "The incident was a vendor error during system maintenance, not a hoax or a real threat; accidental activation is a recurring failure mode for live campus mass-notification systems"
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "Ohio State's Emergency Management vendor sends out false attack alert on campus (WOSU)",
      "url": "https://www.wosu.org/news/2023-06-02/ohio-state-universitys-emergency-management-issued-false-alert-about-campus",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Ohio State confirms no active threat after vendor accidentally sent out 'active attacker' alert (10TV)",
      "url": "https://www.10tv.com/article/news/local/buckeye-alert-ohio-state-confirms-no-active-threat/530-47ccf754-b1e4-4e6f-8a51-c58fb1504950",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Ohio State University does not have active attacker (NBC4 WCMH-TV)",
      "url": "https://www.nbc4i.com/news/local-news/ohio-state-university/ohio-state-university-does-not-have-active-attacker/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Ohio State accidentally sends out false 'active attacker' notification (Cleveland19)",
      "url": "https://www.cleveland19.com/2023/06/02/ohio-state-accidentally-sends-out-false-active-attacker-notification/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "OSU sends out accidental emergency Buckeye Alert (ABC6)",
      "url": "https://abc6onyourside.com/news/local/osu-sends-out-accidental-emergency-buckeye-alert-active-attacker-on-near-campus-system-maintenence-test-columbus",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "@OSU_EMFP correction status — accidental Buckeye Alert (Jun 2, 2023)",
      "url": "https://x.com/OSU_EMFP/status/1664696770134413317",
      "type": "official-archive"
    },
    {
      "type": "official-social",
      "title": "@OSU_EMFP X cascade 1664687488395522049",
      "url": "https://x.com/OSU_EMFP/status/1664687488395522049",
      "accessedDate": "2026-07-18"
    },
    {
      "type": "official-social",
      "title": "@OSU_EMFP X cascade 1664719970792615936",
      "url": "https://x.com/OSU_EMFP/status/1664719970792615936",
      "accessedDate": "2026-07-18"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "high",
  "tags": [
    "accidental-alert",
    "false-alarm",
    "buckeye-alert",
    "emergency-notification",
    "public-r1",
    "ohio",
    "vendor-error",
    "system-maintenance",
    "correction",
    "active-attacker"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-06-20",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-07-18",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}