As the 2024 election approaches, a wave of misinformation is spreading online. A widely shared video features a man claiming to be a Haitian immigrant who intends to vote multiple times in Georgia. U.S. intelligence officials confirmed on Friday that this video is fake and part of a Russian disinformation campaign.
Key Points:
Claim: The video shows a Haitian immigrant discussing plans to vote multiple times in two Georgia counties for Vice President Kamala Harris.
Fact Check: Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger labeled the video as “obviously fake” and attributed it to Russian trolls aiming to create confusion ahead of the election. He stated, “This is false and is an example of targeted disinformation we’ve seen this election.” Raffensperger’s office is collaborating with federal and state agencies, including the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, to combat this misinformation and trace its origins.
On Friday, intelligence officials confirmed that the video was produced by “Russian influence actors.” This effort is part of a larger strategy by Moscow to undermine trust in the integrity of U.S. elections and to foster divisions among the American public. The intelligence community anticipates that Russia will continue to release misleading content in the days leading up to the election and beyond.
The 20-second video features a man claiming to be a Haitian immigrant who holds U.S. citizenship and plans to vote in Georgia’s Gwinnett and Fulton counties. He displays several Georgia IDs with different names and addresses. However, an Associated Press analysis found that the information on two of these IDs does not match any registered voters in those counties.
The video first appeared on the social media platform X on Thursday afternoon. While the original post was removed by Friday morning, several copycat versions continued to circulate, falsely claiming they depicted election fraud.
Experts have noted that the video’s style and distribution methods are consistent with other content produced by Storm-1516, a Russian disinformation network known for creating fake videos during this election cycle. Darren Linvill, co-director of the Media Forensics Hub at Clemson University, remarked in an email, “We know that Storm-1516, and Russia more broadly, has for many years been focused on undermining the legitimacy of our democratic process. This video fits with that goal.”
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