Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) on Thursday requested Elon Musk, the proprietor of X, beforehand generally known as Twitter, and leaders of different social media platforms to take away a faux video from their websites, which he claimed is most definitely a “production of Russian troll farms.”
The video, which has gone viral, purports to indicate a Haitian immigrant who allegedly moved to the U.S. six months in the past holding a number of Georgia driver’s licenses and claiming to have voted a number of instances within the 2024 election for Vice President Kamala Harris.
Raffensperger debunked the video.
“This is false and is an example of targeted disinformation we’ve seen in this and other elections,” Raffensperger mentioned in a press release. “It is likely foreign interference attempting to sow discord and chaos on the eve of the 2024 Presidential election.”
Carlos Osorio/File through Related Press
Raffensperger added that state companions and the federal Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Safety Company are working to determine the origin of the clip.
“In the meantime, we ask Elon Musk and the leadership of other social media platforms to take this down,” he mentioned. “This is obviously fake and part of a disinformation effort. Likely it is a production of Russian troll farms. As Americans we can’t let our enemies use lies to divide us and undermine our faith in our institutions — or each other.”
CNN reported that whereas the unique publish that includes the video was taken down, the clip has continued to make the rounds on social media.
Final week, the U.S. intelligence group warned that the Kremlin would proceed to disseminate media content material with the intention of dividing Individuals and creating mistrust within the U.S. election system. The federal intelligence officers cited a latest faux video displaying somebody destroying mail-in ballots of people that voted for Trump in Pennsylvania, a key battleground on this election. They mentioned it was created and shared by Russian actors.
Raffensperger has repeatedly sought to reassure Georgians concerning the integrity of the election.
“No matter which side of the partisan divide a voter might be on, every voter in our state should know that the results will be valid because the election is secure,” he wrote in an opinion piece for The Atlanta Journal-Structure revealed on Thursday.
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Musk, who endorsed Trump over the summer time, has develop into a prime surrogate for his marketing campaign, holding occasions and donating hundreds of thousands in assist of the previous president’s White Home bid.
