The FBI issued a warning Tuesday over the two newly manufactured videos with false claims about the alleged exposure of terror threats and voting fraud pattern of propaganda that is expected to mount as Election Day approaches and for the days right after.
One of the fraudulent videos, which falsely masquerades as coming from the FBI, claims that the nation is under a high alert level for terror threats and encourages Americans to “vote remotely.” The other video includes a fake press release asserting voting irregularities on behalf of inmates in five prisons.
The FBI declared Both videos ” not authentic, ” stating, “Attempts to deceive the public with false content about FBI threat assessments and activities aim to undermine our democratic process and erode trust in the electoral system.”
Officials at the federal, state, and local levels have been actively warning citizens about disinformation campaigns against the electoral process. Voters are encouraged to find credible information from trusted sources.
U.S. intelligence agencies reported that this year’s elections are facing a wave of unprecedented disinformation from foreign adversaries, among which Russia is accused of trying to amplify divisive narratives. Russia has denied those allegations.
Intelligence agencies said on Monday that foreign influence operations will “intensify through Election Day and in the coming weeks,” particularly in seven key battleground states: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
Even with the increase of disinformation, the director of the U.S. cybersecurity agency said that for now, there is still no indication of activity in the form of hacking or digital manipulation that would directly change the outcome of the elections.
Last week, US intelligence agencies said that Russian efforts in spreading disinformation included a fake video alleging a self-proclaimed Haitian immigrant voting several times in Georgia. Over the weekend, the FBI even warned the public about fake videos circulating online.
