US officials say video falsely depicting voter fraud in Georgia linked to ‘Russian influence actors’

WASHINGTON (AP) — A video purporting to picture elector fraud successful Georgia is clone and nan activity of “Russian power actors” wished to undermine religion successful nan integrity of adjacent week’s statesmanlike election, U.S. intelligence officials said Friday.

The announcement that nan video was clone represented an effort by nan FBI and different national agencies, 4 days earlier Tuesday’s election, to combat overseas disinformation by calling it retired alternatively than letting it dispersed for days unchecked. It follows a akin connection past week that besides attributed to Russian actors a wide circulated video falsely depicting mail-in ballots for Donald Trump being destroyed successful Pennsylvania.

The 20-second video successful question, which began circulating connected nan societal media level X connected Thursday afternoon, shows personification who describes himself arsenic a Haitian migrant talking astir really he’s intending to ballot aggregate times successful 2 Georgia counties for Vice President Kamala Harris.

He flashes respective purported Georgia IDs pinch different names and addresses, and an Associated Press study of nan accusation connected 2 of nan IDs confirms it does not lucifer immoderate registered voters successful Gwinnett aliases Fulton counties., nan 2 counties he mentioned.

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said Thursday nighttime that nan video is “obviously fake” and apt nan merchandise of Russian trolls “attempting to sow discord and chaos connected nan eve of nan election.”

Intelligence officials echoed that uncovering Friday, saying nan video was manufactured by “Russian power actors” and was portion of “Moscow’s broader effort to raise unfounded questions astir nan integrity of nan U.S. predetermination and stoke divisions among Americans.”

The intelligence organization expects Russia, successful nan days earlier nan predetermination and weeks and months after, “to create and merchandise further media contented that seeks to undermine spot successful nan integrity of nan predetermination and disagreement Americans,” said nan associated connection from nan FBI, nan Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and nan Office of nan Director of National Intelligence.

The station that primitively popularized nan video was nary longer disposable connected Friday morning, but copycat versions of nan video were still being shared wide pinch mendacious claims it showed predetermination fraud.

The video successful its style and method of dissemination is akin to different videos created by Storm-1516, besides known arsenic CopyCop, a known Russian disinformation web that has created respective clone videos this election, according to Darren Linvill, co-director of nan Media Forensics Hub astatine Clemson University, who has researched nan group.