By Emmanuel Yashim
Just days before the U.S. presidential election, intelligence agencies in Washington are warning of targeted disinformation from Russia.
The agencies blamed Russia for a video that “falsely depicted individuals claiming to be from Haiti and voting illegally in multiple counties in Georgia.”
Another fabricated video falsely accused “an individual associated with the Democratic presidential ticket of taking a bribe from a US entertainer.”
The agencies did not elaborate in their statement. But US media said the video that began circulating late this week suggested Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband received a 500,000-dollar-bribe from the performer Sean “Diddy” Combs.
In the joint statement, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency blamed “Russian influence actors” for the videos.
These instances were part of a “broader effort” by Moscow “to raise unfounded questions about the integrity of the U.S. election and stoke divisions among Americans,” the agencies said.
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who is responsible for elections in the swing state, said the video about Georgia “is false and is an example of targeted disinformation we’ve seen in this and other elections.
It is likely foreign interference attempting to sow discord and chaos on the eve of the 2024 presidential election.”
Raffensperger called on X owner Elon Musk and the leaders of other social media platforms to remove the video.
The clip was originally posted by an anonymous account that had previously been reported to have spread disinformation of suspected Russian origin.
The video has since been deleted. (dpa/NAN)
