Who is behind the fake video of alleged voter fraud in Georgia?
Authorities say they know who made a fake video of a Haitian who says he had voted several times using multiple Georgia IDs to sow division in the US.
The United States is once again the target of misinformation campaigns to interfere in its elections, a plague that is affecting nations around the world. The tactics and methods are becoming ever more sophisticated and easily spread across social media.
Albeit generally they are the product of foreign actors, they are amplified unfortunately by “useful idiots” and even more unfortunately by malevolent actors who think it will help their cause. However, the authorities are ever vigilant to identify false information and fake videos, inform the public about them and if possible have them removed.
The most recent case that has been identified is a fake video of a supposedly Haitian man who says he had voted several times using multiple Georgia IDs.
Who is behind the fake video of alleged voter fraud in Georgia?
In a joint statement from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) this most recent example of election interference was blamed on Russian troll farms.
“The [Intelligence Community] assesses that Russian influence actors manufactured a recent video that falsely depicted individuals claiming to be from Haiti and voting illegally in multiple counties in Georgia,” reads the statement. “This judgment is based on information available to the IC and prior activities of other Russian influence actors, including videos and other disinformation activities. The Georgia Secretary of State has already refuted the video’s claims as false.”
While the Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger asked Elon Musk and the leadership of other social media platforms to remove the video in question from their sites he himself posted it on his official X account. However, he explained that, “this is obviously fake, and likely it is a production of Russian troll farms. As Americans we can’t let our enemies use lies to divide us and undermine faith in our institutions - or each other.”
Authorities warn of more content from Russian troll farms
That wasn’t the only example of fake videos that the Intelligence Community found that Russian influence actors were disseminating as “part of Moscow’s broader effort to raise unfounded questions about the integrity of the US election and stoke divisions among Americans.”
Another manufactured video falsely accuses “an individual associated with the Democratic presidential ticket of taking a bribe from a U.S. entertainer.”
It is expected that Russian troll farms will continue to “create and release additional media content that seeks to undermine trust in the integrity of the election and divide Americans.”
This will not only be in the remaining days until the November 5 Election Day but also in the weeks and months after ballots have been cast and tallied. Election fraud is exceedingly rare in the United States, and thoroughly prosecuted as a felony.