Video Showing Haitian Migrants Voting in Georgia Is a Russian-Influenced Operation: Intel Community

The origin of the video that falsely showed individuals from Haiti voting in Georgia is the work of Russian influence actors, the intelligence community assessed on Friday.

“CI assesses that Russian influence actors made a recent video that falsely depicted individuals claiming to be from Haiti and voting illegally in several Georgia counties,” according to a joint statement from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the FBI and security Cyber ​​and Infrastructure Agency (CISA).

“This determination is based on information available to CI and the prior activities of other Russian influence actors, including videos and other disinformation activities. Georgia’s Secretary of State has already dismissed the video’s claims as false.”

CISA is the cyber arm of the Department of Homeland Security.

The intelligence community also found that Russian actors falsely shared a video of a person associated with a Democratic campaign falsely accepting a bribe from an entertainer.

“In the run-up to Election Day and in the weeks and months ahead, the IC expects Russia to create and release additional media content that seeks to undermine confidence in the integrity of the election and divide Americans,” the joint statement said.

It is the second time in two weeks that the intelligence community has alerted Americans to a Russian influence operation.

Last Friday, intelligence officials assessed that a video purporting to show torn ballots in Pennsylvania was also part of a Russian influence operation.

Russia, along with Iran and China are trying to sow discord and undermine confidence in the 2024 presidential elections, according to the CISA director.

“We need to understand what these adversaries want,” CISA Director Jen Easterly told ABC News Chief Justice Correspondent Pierre Thomas on Thursday. “They all want just two things. They want to undermine American confidence in our elections and confidence in democracy, and they want to fuel partisan discord. They want to pit Americans against each other, and they’re looking for any opportunity to create anger, and we know that anger equals involvement .”

Easterly said the government would “lean forward” in debunking foreign influence operations.

Since the summer, the intelligence community has warned that foreign adversaries will try to influence the election.

Just hours before Friday’s notification to the intelligence community, a senior CISA official told reporters that election security is national security and said CISA is monitoring both physical and cyber threats ahead of the 2024 election.

The official did not identify any individuals, but said anyone who knowingly puts out disinformation “puts election officials at risk.”

When someone publishes disinformation, “it’s doing the work of our foreign adversaries, and it’s an important reminder to know that these are the tactics they’re using,” and added that there are sometimes violent consequences in the real world. misinformation.