American intelligence agencies say that Russian actors were responsible for a fake video depicting mail-in ballots in Bucks County being torn up that spread on social media.
A joint statement from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) on Friday said that the staged video was part of "Moscow’s broader effort to raise unfounded questions about the integrity of the US election" and sow division among citizens.
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"In the lead up to election day and in the weeks and months after, the (U.S. Intelligence Community) expects Russia to create and release additional media content that seeks to undermine trust in the integrity of the election and divide Americans," the statement read.
The video, which the Bucks County Board of Elections has debunked, purportedly showed an individual opening mail-in ballots and ripping any of them with a vote for Republican presidential Donald Trump. Election officials quickly pointed out that the envelope and materials depicted in the video were not authentic.
U.S. intelligence officials said last week that Russian disinformation operations were also behind viral disinformation spreading baseless accusations of sexual misconduct against Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz. Last month, a report from Microsoft detailed apparent Russian influence operations targeting Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
Bucks County officials from the Democratic and Republican parties condemned the disinformation presented in the video in separate statements on Thursday, before the joint statement from the U.S. Intelligence Community, with both implying that the video was targeting voters in their party.
"To us, this is disinformation, aimed at scaring voters and dissuading them from using mail-in ballots or on-demand voting that uses the same mail-in ballot process," read an X post from the Bucks County Republican Committee. "We have seen dirty underhanded tactics this year, from the defacing of signs, letters threatening Trump supporters, and now this video trying to scare Bucks County voters."
A statement from state Senator Steve Santarsiero (D-10th), who chairs the Bucks County Democratic Party, called it a "fraudulent" and "racist" video that is "little more than a despicable attempt by supporters of Donald Trump to cast doubt on our vote by mail system and, ultimately, the outcome of the Presidential Election" and an "act of desperation."
During the last leg of the 2024 presidential election, Bucks County has become a hotspot for campaigning. Recently, Trump attracted attention with a publicized stop at a Bucks County McDonald's. In July, WHYY reported that the number of Republican voter registrations exceeds those of the Democratic Party.
