GA sec of state blames 'Russian troll farm' for 'obviously fake' video of Haitians voting

01 November 2024

Russian interference in the 2024 election is hitting new lows. Now, the top elections official in one of the most hotly contested battleground states is busy debunking myths spread by Vladimir Putin's regime.

CBS News reported Friday that Georgia Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensberger has confirmed that a video supposedly showing a Haitian migrant voting illegally in the Peach State is not authentic. In the video, a man claiming to be from Haiti said he arrived in the country six months ago, obtained citizenship, and illegally cast ballots twice in the 2024 presidential election in the critical swing state.

"Yesterday, we voted in Gwinnett County, and today we're voting in Fulton County," the man said in the video. "We have all our documents, driver's license. We invite all Haitians to come to America and bring families."

"We have discussed this with State and Federal authorities. This is obviously fake, and likely it is a production of Russian troll farms," Raffenberger tweeted. "As Americans we can’t let our enemies use lies to divide us and undermine faith in our institutions — or each other."

Also on Friday, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) said U.S. intelligence agencies concluded that "Russian influence actors manufactured a recent video that falsely depicted individuals claiming to be from Haiti and voting illegally in multiple counties in Georgia."

The fake video is just the latest example of Russian attempts to disrupt democracy in the current election cycle. Earlier this year, Russians paid far-right American pundits like Tim Pool, Lauren Southern, Benny Johnson and Blaze TV host Dave Rubin. The pro-MAGA commentators were paid hundreds of thousands of dollars from Tenet Media, which was propped up with roughly $10 million in Russian funds.

The Department of Justice issued a 32-page indictment in September accusing Russian operatives Kostiantyn Kalashnikov and Elena Afanasyeva of laundering money to covertly sow disinformation throughout the American media ecosystem prior to next Tuesday's election.

"We’re seeing more and more. It’s coming faster and faster … and therefore it’s a bigger threat than it ever was before," Attorney General Merrick Garland said when announcing the indictment. "We will be relentlessly aggressive in countering attempts to interfere in our elections and undermine our democracy."

In addition to Russian disinformation, U.S. officials are also having to fight back against foreign interference from China and Iran. One Chinese-led effort known as "spamouflage" sought to plant narratives surrounding gun control, the Israel-Hamas war, homelessness and drugs. Iran was also found to have created several websites and social media accounts aimed at spreading disinformation to help Democrats.

Click here to read CBS' report in full.

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