November 4, 2024
Cited article by BBC News
HRRC condemns the spread of fake news, misinformation, and disinformation in both U.S. elections and worldwide, as it undermines the fundamental right to free and fair elections and ultimately jeopardizes the integrity of democratic electoral processes.
News Brief
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has warned of two fake videos circulating online that aim to cast doubt around the 2024 U.S. presidential election. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the FBI said the two videos were spreading rumors about ballot fraud and about Doug Emhoff, the husband of Democrat candidate Vice-President Kamala Harris. The fake videos use convincing graphics and text to look like content from U.S. government agencies as well as more than 50 news organizations – including the BBC and Fox News.
CheckFirst, which is an online analytics company based in Finland, traced the fake videos to a Russian marketing agency and a Russian IP address. In addition, videos produced by the operation have circulated widely on Russian-language Telegram channels. The Russian embassy in Washington has said in a statement that allegations of election interference by the country are “baseless”. However, on Friday, three U.S. government agencies, including the FBI, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, stated that a viral video that “falsely depicted individuals claiming to be from Haiti” voting was made by “Russian influence actors”.