US says Russians made fake video of ballots being destroyed

U.S. intelligence officials say Russian operatives attempting to interfere with the American election were behind a fake video supposedly showing someone tearing up ballots in Pennsylvania.

“This Russian activity is part of Moscow’s broader effort to raise unfounded questions about the integrity of the US election and stoke divisions among Americans,” the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said in a statement on Friday night.

The intelligence community has determined that Russians had “manufactured and amplified the video.”

“Local election officials have already debunked the video’s content,” the office said in the statement, which was released less than two weeks before Election Day with the race between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump largely tied.

The U.S. has repeatedly expressed concerns over attempts by foreign governments to sow discord and turmoil in a sharply divided country.

CNN reported that the video was purported to have been shot in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The county’s Board of Elections said in a bipartisan statement: “This video is fake. The envelope and materials depicted in this video are clearly not authentic materials belonging to or distributed by the Bucks County Board of Elections.”

Earlier Friday, the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said they were investigating unauthorized access by Chinese state-affiliated hackers targeting the commercial telecommunications sector.

The New York Times reported that Chinese hackers who had burrowed into American communications networks had targeted data from telephones used by Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio.

U.S. intelligence agencies have warned that China, along with Russia and Iran have been plotting disruptions, up and down the ballot, using a variety of tactics.

Russia and Iran might seek to foment violent protests inside the U.S. in the days and weeks after the Nov. 5 election as voting results are being tabulated and certified, U.S. intelligence agencies warned on Tuesday.

Moscow’s tactics to spread disinformation have included targeting U.S. swing states using artificial intelligence and influence-for-hire companies, and amplifying divisive narratives, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said in early September.

Prosecutors unsealed charges that month against two Russian nationals accused of laundering almost $10 million to pay for a secret influence campaign to support Trump over Harris.