(AP) – The FBI is warning that several fabricated videos are misusing its name and insignia to promote false claims of problems at the polls.
A written statement purported to come from the FBI urges media and bloggers not to publish information about attacks at polling stations, saying dissemination of stories about violence could cause such incidents to increase.
The FBI says that statement is false and did not come from the bureau.
One fabricated video that impersonates the FBI and a federal government agency urges schools to suspend educational activities through November 11 because of the risk of violence, shootings and riots.
Another claims the FBI received 9,000 complaints about malfunctioning voting machines.
The FBI says neither video came from the bureau and the contents of both are false.
The FBI did not identify who might be responsible for the manufactured videos, but it’s the latest warning of disinformation that’s being spread and the latest instance of the FBI singling out the misuse of its name and insignia to promote false narratives.
Russian disinformation aiming to reduce trust in the U.S. election received some last-minute help from China, according to research from the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab.
Investigators identified several videos linked to Russia that made false claims about voting. Some of the videos mimicked legitimate U.S. news outlets and featured fake audio clips of law enforcement officials supposedly acknowledging widespread voter fraud.
The researchers found the videos were being amplified by a network of fake social media accounts that originated in China. The accounts had spread pro-China propaganda in the past and shifted their focus to the U.S. election only recently.
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