Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensbegrer addresses a video falsely depicting a Haitian immigrant voting numerous times during a Friday CNN appearance.
“As we checked it out, came to a conclusion real quick. So we responded very quickly, you know, on Twitter and then also with a press release, just to let people know it’s fake, don’t fall for it,” Raffensperger said. “Because in effect, what people want to do, these nation state actors, is really get us fighting among ourselves.”
Earlier in the video, Raffensperger debunked the video by assuring voters that individuals cannot receive multiple state IDs with the same name. The leader attributed the video to “bad actors” who are trying to divide the nation.
“We’ve got enough that splits us. We don’t need to have the Russians or other bad actors try and split us further,” he said on air. “So, you know, this was a week after the Intel community had said that a phony video showing fraud in Pennsylvania was just that, was phony, and that also had come from Russia.”
The FBI has publicly addressed the uptick in fake videos by urging voters to be cautious of what they see on social media. The agency warned people that accounts using the name’s and images of candidates are being used to distribute false information.
“Election integrity is among our highest priorities, and the FBI is working closely with state and local law enforcement partners to respond to election threats and protect our communities as Americans exercise their right to vote,” the bureau said in their statement. “Attempts to deceive the public with false content about FBI operations undermines our democratic process and aims to erode trust in the electoral system.”