Authorities flagged multiple instances of false information attempting — and in some cases, briefly succeeding — to disrupt Election Day.
The FBI on Tuesday morning warned in a press release that false election information was being spread misusing the agency’s name and insignia. The instances involved a fabricated video of a fake news clip and a fake FBI press release.
“The fabricated news clip reports falsely that the FBI purportedly stated that Americans should ‘vote remotely’ due to a high terror threat at polling stations,” the release says.
The FBI said the inauthentic video did not “accurately represent the current threat posture or polling location safety.”
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In the second case of false election information, the FBI said “a fabricated video containing a fabricated FBI press release alleges that the management of five prisons in swing states Pennsylvania, Arizona and Georgia rigged inmate voting and colluded with a political party.”
The FBI did not say where this fake content originated.
In Georgia, false information briefly disrupted polling sites where fake bomb threats were also flagged by authorities.
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said in a press conference Tuesday morning that he was aware of “some threats that were of Russian origin,” adding that officials didn’t think they were “viable.”
The hoax bomb threats were sent to polling locations in two Georgia counties, Fulton and Clayton.
A Georgia election official told Scripps News Disinformation Desk that the threats were sent using an email address that has been used in the past. The official said local police evacuated these locations to do a sweep.
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According to the FBI, several more non-credible bomb threats were sent to polling sites in other states, like Arizona, with many sent from email domains that originated in Russia.
"Russia is the most active threat,” the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the office of the Director of National Intelligence and the FBI said in a pre-Election Day joint statement.
“Influence actors linked to Russia in particular are manufacturing videos and creating fake articles to undermine the legitimacy of the election, instill fear in voters regarding the election process and suggest Americans are using violence against each other due to political preferences.”
Cait Conley, senior advisor to the CISA Director, said during an election security press briefing Tuesday that the agency expected to see continued activity targeting swing states by foreign actors Russia and Iran on Election Day and in the coming weeks.
Conley said some disruptive events were to be expected, such as power outages, tech issues or extreme weather. She urged voters to turn to state and local officials as a "signal through the noise of the firehose of disinformation."
