FBI issues warning over two fake election videos

“These videos are not authentic, do not belong to the FBI, and the content they depict is false,” the FBI said in a statement., external.

“Attempts to deceive the public with false information about FBI operations undermine our democratic process and are intended to undermine confidence in the election system.”

The contents of the clips described by the FBI exactly match videos that are part of a batch of more than 300 videos that BBC Verify has uncovered since the start of the year as part of an investigation carried out jointly with online research firm Logically.

The videos feature compelling graphics and text similar to content from US government agencies as well as more than 50 news organizations, including the BBC, France 24 and Fox News.

The videos have been posted online almost every day for months, most recently focusing on the US election, including clips promoting false claims about Harris and reports of unrest and a “civil war”.

CheckFirst, a Finnish online analytics company that independently investigated the network behind the videos, traced them to a Russian marketing agency and a Russian IP address.

“We can link this operation to Russia because of some assets that we know were produced by a Russian company,” said Guillaume Caster, chief executive of CheckFirst.

“Another source of evidence is a set of data that we have accessed that proves that one of the machines that was used to send emails (by the group) was located in Russia.”

In addition, videos filmed during the operation were widely distributed on Russian-language Telegram channels.

CheckFirst found that the style, messaging and themes of the videos were consistent with other Kremlin-linked operations, an assessment backed up by BBC Verify research.

However, it is unclear who is leading the operation and whether it is funded by the Russian government.

The Russian Embassy in Washington said in a statement that allegations of election interference by the country were “baseless.”

“All insinuations about “Russian machinations” are malicious slander, invented for use in the internal political struggle in the United States.”

According to X Metrics, the clips have been viewed tens of thousands of times, but are posted by accounts with few followers and attract very few comments—clear signs that the number of views is being driven by fake “bot accounts.”

The FBI declined to comment on the operation, but the bureau and the agencies have issued two more warnings in recent days about influence networks linked to Russia.

On Friday, three US agencies, including the FBI, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, said the viral video, which “falsely depicts people voting while claiming to be from Haiti,” was made by “Russian influencers.” .

Last week, intelligence agencies said a video purporting to show a poll worker destroying mail-in ballots marked for Donald Trump in Pennsylvania was “fabricated and distributed” by the Russians.