https://www.npr.org/2024/10/25/nx-s1-5165593/russia-ballot-video-bucks-countyRussia manufactured and spread a fake video that purports to show someone destroying ballots marked for former President Donald Trump in Pennsylvania, U.S. officials said on Friday.
The phony video was quickly debunked by local election officials and the district attorney’s office in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. But it still circulated widely on social media, including Elon Musk's X, where it racked up hundreds of thousands of views.
"This Russian activity is part of Moscow's broader effort to raise unfounded questions about the integrity of the U.S. election and stoke divisions among Americans," the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said in a joint statement.
Russian propagandists have also created fake videos targeting Vice President Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
The purported Bucks County video shows a person's hands opening envelopes and removing and examining the ballots inside. The person rips up ballots marked for Trump, cursing at the former president, while leaving ballots marked for Harris alone. "Vote Harris," the voice says at one point.
But the envelopes and ballots shown are not what the county uses to vote, the Bucks County Board of Elections said.
The video was posted by an X account that last week shared another video making false accusations against Walz, which intelligence officials have also attributed to Russia. The account has also promoted the baseless QAnon conspiracy theory.
