FBI links video showing alleged election fraud in Georgia to “Russian influence players”

WASHINGTON (AP) — A video purported to show election fraud in Georgia is fake and the work of “Russian influence actors,” U.S. intelligence officials said Friday, warning that foreign efforts to undermined faith in the integrity of next week’s elections lingering long after votes have been cast.

News that the fake video represents an effort by the FBI and other federal agencies, four days before Tuesday’s election, to combat foreign disinformation by identifying it rather than allowing it to spread unchecked for days. This follows a similar statement last week that also attributed to Russian actors a widely circulated video falsely showing the destruction of mail-in ballots for Donald Trump in Pennsylvania.

The 20-second video, which began circulating on the social media platform of Kamala Harris.

The person shows multiple Georgia IDs with different names and addresses. An analysis of the information on two of the identifications, conducted by The Associated Press, confirms that they do not correspond to registered voters in Gwinnett or Fulton counties, which the main character of the video called reference

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said Thursday night that the video is “obviously fake” and may be the product of Russian trolls “trying to cause chaos and disorder on the eve of the election.” “

Intelligence officials reiterated that decision on Friday, noting that the video was produced by “Russian actors of influence” and was part of Moscow’s “broad effort to discredit unfounded suspicions”. building on the integrity of the election in the United States and divisions of fog among Americans. “.

The intelligence community expects Russia, in the days leading up to the election, and weeks and months afterward, to “create and publish additional media content that seeks to undermine confidence in the integrity of the election and dividing Americans,” read the coalition. statement, issued by the FBI, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the office of the Director of National Intelligence.

The post that first liked the video was unavailable Friday morning, but copies of the video were still widely shared, falsely claiming it showed election fraud.

In its style and method of distribution, the video is similar to others created by Storm-1516, also known as CopyCop, a well-known Russian disinformation network that has created several fake videos in this election, according to Darren Linvill , co-director of the election. Clemson University Media Forensic Center, which has investigated the group.

Also on Friday, Russia-affiliated groups released another video that accused “an individual associated with a Democratic presidential bid of accepting a bribe from an American guest.” They did not provide further details.

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This story was translated from English by an AP editor with the help of a generational artificial intelligence engine.