MISSOURI, USA — A vague new trend is appearing on Instagram, TikTok and X, formerly known as Twitter.
The various posts encourage iPhone users to say two words to Siri, Apple's automated assistant. The posts never clarify what the command does.
An account named @Losangelesconfidential told its 13.9 million followers to do just that in a now-deleted Instagram post. More than 30,000 people liked the post before it was deleted.
The 5 On Your Side VERIFY team decided to find out what the command does.
The question
What happens when you say "one twelve" to Siri?
Our sources
The answer
Telling Siri "one twelve" will automatically call 911, which could land people in serious trouble.
What we found
In the comments below @Losangelesconfidential's post, numerous people said the command makes SIRI call 911.
To test the claim, VERIFY team member Anne Allred traveled to Jefferson County's 911 dispatch center to try it. Sure enough, when Allred told Siri "one twelve," her phone made an "emergency call" and a 911 dispatcher at the center received the call.
It's important to mention that Allred tested the command with permission from authorities and under their supervision.
The U.S. Department of State confirmed that at least 44 countries throughout the world use the digits 1-1-2 as an emergency number instead of 9-1-1. 5 On Your Side attempted to ask Apple, Verizon, AT&T and the Cellular Telephone Industries Association about why the Siri command calls 911 in the United States. None of the sources answered 5 On Your Side's question.
People who follow the advice of the social media posts, not knowing what may happen, may hang up on authorities after their phone calls 911. Even when they hang up, dispatchers still consider the call an emergency.
"We call them back, and if they answer, we ask if there's an emergency," a Jefferson County dispatcher told Allred. "If they don't answer, a supervisor decides if we send someone or not. We also get a GPS location for the cell phone from the cell phone company."
Prank calling 911 can lead to a misdemeanor charge, according to authorities.
So, we can VERIFY: Saying "one twelve" to Siri will cause your phone to call 911.
VERIFY
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