diff --git a/compiler/rustc_mir_transform/src/check_packed_ref.rs b/compiler/rustc_mir_transform/src/check_packed_ref.rs
index f5f1c1010e1..b9bc89fcf8f 100644
--- a/compiler/rustc_mir_transform/src/check_packed_ref.rs
+++ b/compiler/rustc_mir_transform/src/check_packed_ref.rs
@@ -56,8 +56,11 @@ impl<'tcx> Visitor<'tcx> for PackedRefChecker<'_, 'tcx> {
                         "reference to packed field is unaligned"
                     )
                     .note(
-                        "fields of packed structs are not properly aligned, and creating \
-                        a misaligned reference is undefined behavior (even if that \
+                        "packed structs are only aligned by one byte, and many modern architectures \
+                        penalize unaligned field accesses"
+                    )
+                    .note(
+                        "creating a misaligned reference is undefined behavior (even if that \
                         reference is never dereferenced)",
                     ).help(
                         "copy the field contents to a local variable, or replace the \
diff --git a/tests/ui/binding/issue-53114-safety-checks.stderr b/tests/ui/binding/issue-53114-safety-checks.stderr
index 41318d0a38a..349c4639a9e 100644
--- a/tests/ui/binding/issue-53114-safety-checks.stderr
+++ b/tests/ui/binding/issue-53114-safety-checks.stderr
@@ -4,7 +4,8 @@ error[E0793]: reference to packed field is unaligned
 LL |     let _ = &p.b;
    |             ^^^^
    |
-   = note: fields of packed structs are not properly aligned, and creating a misaligned reference is undefined behavior (even if that reference is never dereferenced)
+   = note: packed structs are only aligned by one byte, and many modern architectures penalize unaligned field accesses
+   = note: creating a misaligned reference is undefined behavior (even if that reference is never dereferenced)
    = help: copy the field contents to a local variable, or replace the reference with a raw pointer and use `read_unaligned`/`write_unaligned` (loads and stores via `*p` must be properly aligned even when using raw pointers)
 
 error[E0793]: reference to packed field is unaligned
@@ -13,7 +14,8 @@ error[E0793]: reference to packed field is unaligned
 LL |     let (_,) = (&p.b,);
    |                 ^^^^
    |
-   = note: fields of packed structs are not properly aligned, and creating a misaligned reference is undefined behavior (even if that reference is never dereferenced)
+   = note: packed structs are only aligned by one byte, and many modern architectures penalize unaligned field accesses
+   = note: creating a misaligned reference is undefined behavior (even if that reference is never dereferenced)
    = help: copy the field contents to a local variable, or replace the reference with a raw pointer and use `read_unaligned`/`write_unaligned` (loads and stores via `*p` must be properly aligned even when using raw pointers)
 
 error[E0793]: reference to packed field is unaligned
@@ -22,7 +24,8 @@ error[E0793]: reference to packed field is unaligned
 LL |     let _: _ = &p.b;
    |                ^^^^
    |
-   = note: fields of packed structs are not properly aligned, and creating a misaligned reference is undefined behavior (even if that reference is never dereferenced)
+   = note: packed structs are only aligned by one byte, and many modern architectures penalize unaligned field accesses
+   = note: creating a misaligned reference is undefined behavior (even if that reference is never dereferenced)
    = help: copy the field contents to a local variable, or replace the reference with a raw pointer and use `read_unaligned`/`write_unaligned` (loads and stores via `*p` must be properly aligned even when using raw pointers)
 
 error[E0793]: reference to packed field is unaligned
@@ -31,7 +34,8 @@ error[E0793]: reference to packed field is unaligned
 LL |     let (_,): _ = (&p.b,);
    |                    ^^^^
    |
-   = note: fields of packed structs are not properly aligned, and creating a misaligned reference is undefined behavior (even if that reference is never dereferenced)
+   = note: packed structs are only aligned by one byte, and many modern architectures penalize unaligned field accesses
+   = note: creating a misaligned reference is undefined behavior (even if that reference is never dereferenced)
    = help: copy the field contents to a local variable, or replace the reference with a raw pointer and use `read_unaligned`/`write_unaligned` (loads and stores via `*p` must be properly aligned even when using raw pointers)
 
 error[E0793]: reference to packed field is unaligned
@@ -40,7 +44,8 @@ error[E0793]: reference to packed field is unaligned
 LL |     match &p.b  { _ => { } }
    |           ^^^^
    |
-   = note: fields of packed structs are not properly aligned, and creating a misaligned reference is undefined behavior (even if that reference is never dereferenced)
+   = note: packed structs are only aligned by one byte, and many modern architectures penalize unaligned field accesses
+   = note: creating a misaligned reference is undefined behavior (even if that reference is never dereferenced)
    = help: copy the field contents to a local variable, or replace the reference with a raw pointer and use `read_unaligned`/`write_unaligned` (loads and stores via `*p` must be properly aligned even when using raw pointers)
 
 error[E0793]: reference to packed field is unaligned
@@ -49,7 +54,8 @@ error[E0793]: reference to packed field is unaligned
 LL |     match (&p.b,)  { (_,) => { } }
    |            ^^^^
    |
-   = note: fields of packed structs are not properly aligned, and creating a misaligned reference is undefined behavior (even if that reference is never dereferenced)
+   = note: packed structs are only aligned by one byte, and many modern architectures penalize unaligned field accesses
+   = note: creating a misaligned reference is undefined behavior (even if that reference is never dereferenced)
    = help: copy the field contents to a local variable, or replace the reference with a raw pointer and use `read_unaligned`/`write_unaligned` (loads and stores via `*p` must be properly aligned even when using raw pointers)
 
 error[E0133]: access to union field is unsafe and requires unsafe function or block
diff --git a/tests/ui/closures/2229_closure_analysis/diagnostics/repr_packed.stderr b/tests/ui/closures/2229_closure_analysis/diagnostics/repr_packed.stderr
index 9c2c434572a..8c44229bceb 100644
--- a/tests/ui/closures/2229_closure_analysis/diagnostics/repr_packed.stderr
+++ b/tests/ui/closures/2229_closure_analysis/diagnostics/repr_packed.stderr
@@ -4,7 +4,8 @@ error[E0793]: reference to packed field is unaligned
 LL |         println!("{}", foo.x);
    |                        ^^^^^
    |
-   = note: fields of packed structs are not properly aligned, and creating a misaligned reference is undefined behavior (even if that reference is never dereferenced)
+   = note: packed structs are only aligned by one byte, and many modern architectures penalize unaligned field accesses
+   = note: creating a misaligned reference is undefined behavior (even if that reference is never dereferenced)
    = help: copy the field contents to a local variable, or replace the reference with a raw pointer and use `read_unaligned`/`write_unaligned` (loads and stores via `*p` must be properly aligned even when using raw pointers)
    = note: this error originates in the macro `$crate::format_args_nl` which comes from the expansion of the macro `println` (in Nightly builds, run with -Z macro-backtrace for more info)
 
diff --git a/tests/ui/lint/unaligned_references.stderr b/tests/ui/lint/unaligned_references.stderr
index 775dcac678e..5f9cecadbff 100644
--- a/tests/ui/lint/unaligned_references.stderr
+++ b/tests/ui/lint/unaligned_references.stderr
@@ -4,7 +4,8 @@ error[E0793]: reference to packed field is unaligned
 LL |             &self.x;
    |             ^^^^^^^
    |
-   = note: fields of packed structs are not properly aligned, and creating a misaligned reference is undefined behavior (even if that reference is never dereferenced)
+   = note: packed structs are only aligned by one byte, and many modern architectures penalize unaligned field accesses
+   = note: creating a misaligned reference is undefined behavior (even if that reference is never dereferenced)
    = help: copy the field contents to a local variable, or replace the reference with a raw pointer and use `read_unaligned`/`write_unaligned` (loads and stores via `*p` must be properly aligned even when using raw pointers)
 
 error[E0793]: reference to packed field is unaligned
@@ -13,7 +14,8 @@ error[E0793]: reference to packed field is unaligned
 LL |         let _ = &good.ptr;
    |                 ^^^^^^^^^
    |
-   = note: fields of packed structs are not properly aligned, and creating a misaligned reference is undefined behavior (even if that reference is never dereferenced)
+   = note: packed structs are only aligned by one byte, and many modern architectures penalize unaligned field accesses
+   = note: creating a misaligned reference is undefined behavior (even if that reference is never dereferenced)
    = help: copy the field contents to a local variable, or replace the reference with a raw pointer and use `read_unaligned`/`write_unaligned` (loads and stores via `*p` must be properly aligned even when using raw pointers)
 
 error[E0793]: reference to packed field is unaligned
@@ -22,7 +24,8 @@ error[E0793]: reference to packed field is unaligned
 LL |         let _ = &good.data;
    |                 ^^^^^^^^^^
    |
-   = note: fields of packed structs are not properly aligned, and creating a misaligned reference is undefined behavior (even if that reference is never dereferenced)
+   = note: packed structs are only aligned by one byte, and many modern architectures penalize unaligned field accesses
+   = note: creating a misaligned reference is undefined behavior (even if that reference is never dereferenced)
    = help: copy the field contents to a local variable, or replace the reference with a raw pointer and use `read_unaligned`/`write_unaligned` (loads and stores via `*p` must be properly aligned even when using raw pointers)
 
 error[E0793]: reference to packed field is unaligned
@@ -31,7 +34,8 @@ error[E0793]: reference to packed field is unaligned
 LL |         let _ = &good.data as *const _;
    |                 ^^^^^^^^^^
    |
-   = note: fields of packed structs are not properly aligned, and creating a misaligned reference is undefined behavior (even if that reference is never dereferenced)
+   = note: packed structs are only aligned by one byte, and many modern architectures penalize unaligned field accesses
+   = note: creating a misaligned reference is undefined behavior (even if that reference is never dereferenced)
    = help: copy the field contents to a local variable, or replace the reference with a raw pointer and use `read_unaligned`/`write_unaligned` (loads and stores via `*p` must be properly aligned even when using raw pointers)
 
 error[E0793]: reference to packed field is unaligned
@@ -40,7 +44,8 @@ error[E0793]: reference to packed field is unaligned
 LL |         let _: *const _ = &good.data;
    |                           ^^^^^^^^^^
    |
-   = note: fields of packed structs are not properly aligned, and creating a misaligned reference is undefined behavior (even if that reference is never dereferenced)
+   = note: packed structs are only aligned by one byte, and many modern architectures penalize unaligned field accesses
+   = note: creating a misaligned reference is undefined behavior (even if that reference is never dereferenced)
    = help: copy the field contents to a local variable, or replace the reference with a raw pointer and use `read_unaligned`/`write_unaligned` (loads and stores via `*p` must be properly aligned even when using raw pointers)
 
 error[E0793]: reference to packed field is unaligned
@@ -49,7 +54,8 @@ error[E0793]: reference to packed field is unaligned
 LL |         let _ = good.data.clone();
    |                 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
    |
-   = note: fields of packed structs are not properly aligned, and creating a misaligned reference is undefined behavior (even if that reference is never dereferenced)
+   = note: packed structs are only aligned by one byte, and many modern architectures penalize unaligned field accesses
+   = note: creating a misaligned reference is undefined behavior (even if that reference is never dereferenced)
    = help: copy the field contents to a local variable, or replace the reference with a raw pointer and use `read_unaligned`/`write_unaligned` (loads and stores via `*p` must be properly aligned even when using raw pointers)
 
 error[E0793]: reference to packed field is unaligned
@@ -58,7 +64,8 @@ error[E0793]: reference to packed field is unaligned
 LL |         let _ = &good.data2[0];
    |                 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
    |
-   = note: fields of packed structs are not properly aligned, and creating a misaligned reference is undefined behavior (even if that reference is never dereferenced)
+   = note: packed structs are only aligned by one byte, and many modern architectures penalize unaligned field accesses
+   = note: creating a misaligned reference is undefined behavior (even if that reference is never dereferenced)
    = help: copy the field contents to a local variable, or replace the reference with a raw pointer and use `read_unaligned`/`write_unaligned` (loads and stores via `*p` must be properly aligned even when using raw pointers)
 
 error[E0793]: reference to packed field is unaligned
@@ -67,7 +74,8 @@ error[E0793]: reference to packed field is unaligned
 LL |         let _ = &packed2.x;
    |                 ^^^^^^^^^^
    |
-   = note: fields of packed structs are not properly aligned, and creating a misaligned reference is undefined behavior (even if that reference is never dereferenced)
+   = note: packed structs are only aligned by one byte, and many modern architectures penalize unaligned field accesses
+   = note: creating a misaligned reference is undefined behavior (even if that reference is never dereferenced)
    = help: copy the field contents to a local variable, or replace the reference with a raw pointer and use `read_unaligned`/`write_unaligned` (loads and stores via `*p` must be properly aligned even when using raw pointers)
 
 error[E0793]: reference to packed field is unaligned
@@ -76,7 +84,8 @@ error[E0793]: reference to packed field is unaligned
 LL |         let _ref = &m1.1.a;
    |                    ^^^^^^^
    |
-   = note: fields of packed structs are not properly aligned, and creating a misaligned reference is undefined behavior (even if that reference is never dereferenced)
+   = note: packed structs are only aligned by one byte, and many modern architectures penalize unaligned field accesses
+   = note: creating a misaligned reference is undefined behavior (even if that reference is never dereferenced)
    = help: copy the field contents to a local variable, or replace the reference with a raw pointer and use `read_unaligned`/`write_unaligned` (loads and stores via `*p` must be properly aligned even when using raw pointers)
 
 error[E0793]: reference to packed field is unaligned
@@ -85,7 +94,8 @@ error[E0793]: reference to packed field is unaligned
 LL |         let _ref = &m2.1.a;
    |                    ^^^^^^^
    |
-   = note: fields of packed structs are not properly aligned, and creating a misaligned reference is undefined behavior (even if that reference is never dereferenced)
+   = note: packed structs are only aligned by one byte, and many modern architectures penalize unaligned field accesses
+   = note: creating a misaligned reference is undefined behavior (even if that reference is never dereferenced)
    = help: copy the field contents to a local variable, or replace the reference with a raw pointer and use `read_unaligned`/`write_unaligned` (loads and stores via `*p` must be properly aligned even when using raw pointers)
 
 error: aborting due to 10 previous errors
diff --git a/tests/ui/lint/unaligned_references_external_macro.stderr b/tests/ui/lint/unaligned_references_external_macro.stderr
index 5b08f433e32..94a95c1d8fd 100644
--- a/tests/ui/lint/unaligned_references_external_macro.stderr
+++ b/tests/ui/lint/unaligned_references_external_macro.stderr
@@ -9,7 +9,8 @@ LL | |     }
 LL | | }
    | |_^
    |
-   = note: fields of packed structs are not properly aligned, and creating a misaligned reference is undefined behavior (even if that reference is never dereferenced)
+   = note: packed structs are only aligned by one byte, and many modern architectures penalize unaligned field accesses
+   = note: creating a misaligned reference is undefined behavior (even if that reference is never dereferenced)
    = help: copy the field contents to a local variable, or replace the reference with a raw pointer and use `read_unaligned`/`write_unaligned` (loads and stores via `*p` must be properly aligned even when using raw pointers)
    = note: this error originates in the macro `unaligned_references_external_crate::mac` (in Nightly builds, run with -Z macro-backtrace for more info)
 
diff --git a/tests/ui/packed/issue-27060.stderr b/tests/ui/packed/issue-27060.stderr
index b4753284f72..4dc31a28386 100644
--- a/tests/ui/packed/issue-27060.stderr
+++ b/tests/ui/packed/issue-27060.stderr
@@ -4,7 +4,8 @@ error[E0793]: reference to packed field is unaligned
 LL |     let _ = &good.data;
    |             ^^^^^^^^^^
    |
-   = note: fields of packed structs are not properly aligned, and creating a misaligned reference is undefined behavior (even if that reference is never dereferenced)
+   = note: packed structs are only aligned by one byte, and many modern architectures penalize unaligned field accesses
+   = note: creating a misaligned reference is undefined behavior (even if that reference is never dereferenced)
    = help: copy the field contents to a local variable, or replace the reference with a raw pointer and use `read_unaligned`/`write_unaligned` (loads and stores via `*p` must be properly aligned even when using raw pointers)
 
 error[E0793]: reference to packed field is unaligned
@@ -13,7 +14,8 @@ error[E0793]: reference to packed field is unaligned
 LL |     let _ = &good.data2[0];
    |             ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
    |
-   = note: fields of packed structs are not properly aligned, and creating a misaligned reference is undefined behavior (even if that reference is never dereferenced)
+   = note: packed structs are only aligned by one byte, and many modern architectures penalize unaligned field accesses
+   = note: creating a misaligned reference is undefined behavior (even if that reference is never dereferenced)
    = help: copy the field contents to a local variable, or replace the reference with a raw pointer and use `read_unaligned`/`write_unaligned` (loads and stores via `*p` must be properly aligned even when using raw pointers)
 
 error[E0793]: reference to packed field is unaligned
@@ -22,7 +24,8 @@ error[E0793]: reference to packed field is unaligned
 LL |     let _ = &good.data;
    |             ^^^^^^^^^^
    |
-   = note: fields of packed structs are not properly aligned, and creating a misaligned reference is undefined behavior (even if that reference is never dereferenced)
+   = note: packed structs are only aligned by one byte, and many modern architectures penalize unaligned field accesses
+   = note: creating a misaligned reference is undefined behavior (even if that reference is never dereferenced)
    = help: copy the field contents to a local variable, or replace the reference with a raw pointer and use `read_unaligned`/`write_unaligned` (loads and stores via `*p` must be properly aligned even when using raw pointers)
 
 error[E0793]: reference to packed field is unaligned
@@ -31,7 +34,8 @@ error[E0793]: reference to packed field is unaligned
 LL |     let _ = &good.data2[0];
    |             ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
    |
-   = note: fields of packed structs are not properly aligned, and creating a misaligned reference is undefined behavior (even if that reference is never dereferenced)
+   = note: packed structs are only aligned by one byte, and many modern architectures penalize unaligned field accesses
+   = note: creating a misaligned reference is undefined behavior (even if that reference is never dereferenced)
    = help: copy the field contents to a local variable, or replace the reference with a raw pointer and use `read_unaligned`/`write_unaligned` (loads and stores via `*p` must be properly aligned even when using raw pointers)
 
 error: aborting due to 4 previous errors
diff --git a/tests/ui/packed/packed-struct-borrow-element-64bit.stderr b/tests/ui/packed/packed-struct-borrow-element-64bit.stderr
index 32943b0f07b..57630a4b470 100644
--- a/tests/ui/packed/packed-struct-borrow-element-64bit.stderr
+++ b/tests/ui/packed/packed-struct-borrow-element-64bit.stderr
@@ -4,7 +4,8 @@ error[E0793]: reference to packed field is unaligned
 LL |     let brw = &foo.baz;
    |               ^^^^^^^^
    |
-   = note: fields of packed structs are not properly aligned, and creating a misaligned reference is undefined behavior (even if that reference is never dereferenced)
+   = note: packed structs are only aligned by one byte, and many modern architectures penalize unaligned field accesses
+   = note: creating a misaligned reference is undefined behavior (even if that reference is never dereferenced)
    = help: copy the field contents to a local variable, or replace the reference with a raw pointer and use `read_unaligned`/`write_unaligned` (loads and stores via `*p` must be properly aligned even when using raw pointers)
 
 error: aborting due to previous error
diff --git a/tests/ui/packed/packed-struct-borrow-element.stderr b/tests/ui/packed/packed-struct-borrow-element.stderr
index 29d867fc5b9..c1f749d6fbb 100644
--- a/tests/ui/packed/packed-struct-borrow-element.stderr
+++ b/tests/ui/packed/packed-struct-borrow-element.stderr
@@ -4,7 +4,8 @@ error[E0793]: reference to packed field is unaligned
 LL |     let brw = &foo.baz;
    |               ^^^^^^^^
    |
-   = note: fields of packed structs are not properly aligned, and creating a misaligned reference is undefined behavior (even if that reference is never dereferenced)
+   = note: packed structs are only aligned by one byte, and many modern architectures penalize unaligned field accesses
+   = note: creating a misaligned reference is undefined behavior (even if that reference is never dereferenced)
    = help: copy the field contents to a local variable, or replace the reference with a raw pointer and use `read_unaligned`/`write_unaligned` (loads and stores via `*p` must be properly aligned even when using raw pointers)
 
 error[E0793]: reference to packed field is unaligned
@@ -13,7 +14,8 @@ error[E0793]: reference to packed field is unaligned
 LL |     let brw = &foo.baz;
    |               ^^^^^^^^
    |
-   = note: fields of packed structs are not properly aligned, and creating a misaligned reference is undefined behavior (even if that reference is never dereferenced)
+   = note: packed structs are only aligned by one byte, and many modern architectures penalize unaligned field accesses
+   = note: creating a misaligned reference is undefined behavior (even if that reference is never dereferenced)
    = help: copy the field contents to a local variable, or replace the reference with a raw pointer and use `read_unaligned`/`write_unaligned` (loads and stores via `*p` must be properly aligned even when using raw pointers)
 
 error: aborting due to 2 previous errors