US intelligence agencies have linked a suspected fake video featuring a Haitian man claiming to have voted “multiple times” in Georgia to “Russian influence actors.” The 20-second video, which has garnered hundreds of thousands of views on social media platforms like X, shows two men allegedly from Haiti discussing their quick path to US citizenship and their voting experiences.
In the video, one man states that they gained US citizenship within six months of arriving and voted for Kamala Harris in Gwinnett and Fulton counties. They also encourage other Haitians to move to the United States.
Evidence gathered by the BBC suggests the video is fabricated, highlighting false addresses and the use of stock photos. A joint statement from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the FBI, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency noted that the video was made by “Russian influence actors.”
“This Russian activity is part of Moscow’s broader effort to cast doubt on the integrity of US elections and create divisions among Americans,” the statement said.
Researchers from Clemson University noted the video’s characteristics align with a Russian disinformation operation known as Storm-1516. Darren Linvill from Clemson emphasized that the video’s narrative, style, and production are consistent with previous Russian efforts to undermine US election integrity, particularly in recent years.
Georgia’s Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger, denounced the clip as “fake and part of a disinformation effort,” urging social media platforms, including X’s owner Elon Musk, to take it down.
One individual in the video displays multiple driving licenses purportedly as proof of identity, but a detailed review of the images revealed that the addresses correspond to a business site and a roadside location, not residential addresses. A reverse image search on one of the licenses showed it was a stock photo originally produced by a South African company.
US intelligence agencies also reported last week that another viral video, which appeared to show a poll worker destroying mail-in ballots for Donald Trump in Pennsylvania, was similarly “manufactured and amplified” by Russian operatives.
Credit: BBC News
