Twitter's New Alert System Sounds During Capitol Lockdown

One of Twitter's newest functions got a chance to prove its worth just a week after its launch.

During the brief time that the U.S. Capitol was under lockdown on Thursday after gunshots were fired near the building, the Senate Sergeant at Arms pushed out a notification using Twitter's emergency alert system. The company introduced this feature last week

Twitter offered the following description of the new function:

Twitter Alerts are tweets published by select public agencies and emergency organizations during a crisis or emergency that contain up-to-date information relevant to an unfolding event, such as public safety warnings and evacuation instructions. Alerts will appear highlighted on your home timeline and are instantly sent to your device as a mobile notification. Read more...