Foreign adversaries are expected to boost election fraud claims after Nov. 5.
Kent Nishimura
The FBI says fake videos and press releases are impersonating the bureau to push false claims about the election. On Tuesday evening, the FBI called out three more, which it says are the latest in a series “designed to mislead the American public.”
The hoaxes include a fabricated statement from the FBI to journalists and bloggers “against publishing information about violence at polling stations,” claiming that doing so could provoke more such incidents.
Another fake is a video impersonating the FBI and another federal agency, making a joint statement suggesting schools suspend in-person classes through Nov. 11 because “the risk of school shooting and riots has increased significantly” due to the election.
A third fake video claims the bureau received “9,000 complaints about malfunctioning voting machines” that were allegedly submitting votes for one candidate.
The FBI said in each case, the fake is “not authentic, is not from the FBI, and its contents are false.”
The bureau has warned about other fabricated videos and statements using its name and insignia to spread false claims of voter fraud and security warnings in recent days. Researchers at Antibot4Navalny, which tracks Russian disinformation, have said the fakes are likely created by Russia.
On Monday, a joint statement from federal agencies warned Russia is creating such content, saying: “Influence actors linked to Russia in particular are manufacturing videos and creating fake articles to undermine the legitimacy of the election, instill fear in voters regarding the election process, and suggest Americans are using violence against each other due to political preferences.”