False, misleading election content swirls online ahead of U.S. vote
Officials calling out videos containing fake information that are gaining attention
A steady stream of false and misleading information is circulating online around the 2024 U.S. presidential election.
A Kentucky voting machine that registered a vote for U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris when the voter meant to select former U.S. president Donald Trump has been found to be user error, not fraud, according to officials in Laurel County, where the issue occurred.
A video circulating widely on social media that shows a man who says he is a Haitian immigrant claiming he is planning to vote multiple times in Georgia is fake.
U.S. intelligence officials confirmed on Friday that the video is the work of Russian influence creators.
Here's a look at the facts.
User error, not machine error in Kentucky
A video showing a ballot marking machine in Laurel County, Ky., that marks Harris when the voter tries to select Trump is falsely being touted as proof of fraud.
Hello Kentucky, former Deputy Clerk & Elections Administrator here. Rest assured, the below video does not depict any fraudulent activity or "vote flipping".<br><br>If you look closely, the voter is attempting to press the small check box located within the text box. Consistently, the… <a href="https://t.co/GiVvyBCejL">https://t.co/GiVvyBCejL</a>
—@JamesYoungKYThis was an isolated incident caused by user error, said Laurel County Clerk Tony Brown. On Facebook, he said officials were able to recreate the incident when pressing the areas in between boxes with candidates' names. Voters are supposed to press the middle of the box to make their selection.
The machine was taken out of service until the Kentucky attorney general's office investigated, and its use has since resumed. Brown said there have been no other complaints about the machine.
The voter in the video said she was able to cast a ballot for her preferred candidate.
Posts claiming that the video shows election interference received hundreds of thousands of likes and shares on multiple social media platforms.
James Young, a former elections director in Louisville, Ky., confirmed in an online post that the video "does not depict any fraudulent activity or 'voting flipping.'"
Russian sources behind 'obviously fake' Georgia video
Another video shows a man who says he's a Haitian immigrant talking about how he intends to vote multiple times in two Georgia counties for Harris.
The video is "obviously fake" and likely the product of Russian trolls "attempting to sow discord and chaos on the eve of the election," Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said.
"This is false and is an example of targeted disinformation we've seen this election."
Intelligence officials confirmed on Friday that the video was manufactured by "Russian influence actors" and was part of "Moscow's broader effort to raise unfounded questions about the integrity of the U.S. election and stoke divisions among Americans."
The 20-second video shows a man who describes himself as a Haitian immigrant with U.S. citizenship who plans to vote multiple times in Georgia's Gwinnett and Fulton counties. He flashes several purported Georgia IDs with different names and addresses.
An Associated Press analysis of the information on two of the IDs confirms it does not match any registered voters in Gwinnett or Fulton counties. The video began circulating on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, on Thursday afternoon.
The post that originally popularized it was no longer on X on Friday morning, but copycat versions were still being shared widely with false claims it showed election fraud.
Routine operations, not fraud, in Pennsylvania county
A video of a man dropping off a large number of ballots at the courthouse in Pennsylvania's Northampton County has been falsely claimed to show evidence of voter fraud.
Lamont McClure, executive of Northampton County, told AP that the video — which spread widely on X with several users actively trying to identify the man — showed nothing but routine election operations.
We can help you. It's literally the postmaster.
—@NorthamptonExecThe man in the video is the local postmaster and was doing his job, dropping off ballots as instructed after collection, McClure said in an email. The misinformation led to unwarranted harassment against the postmaster, he said.
"This is a postal service servant doing his public duty," he said. "Folks should find out all the facts before they go sharing things online." The courthouse is surrounded by security cameras and other safeguards to ensure the election runs smoothly, McClure said.
The county executive replied to the original video on X, which was shared more than 14,000 times. A note was placed on the post explaining the misrepresentation.
Trump ballots not destroyed in Bucks County, Pa.
Another video shows ballots marked for Trump being destroyed in Bucks County, Pa., while those for Harris were put back in their envelopes to be counted.
The Bucks County Board of Elections identified the video as "fake" on Thursday afternoon. And the FBI and other U.S. intelligence agencies said the video was "manufactured and amplified" by Russian actors.
"The envelope and materials depicted in this video are clearly not authentic materials belonging to or distributed by the Bucks County Board of Elections," the board said in a statement. The video was reported to law enforcement.
The Bucks County district attorney's office said in an emailed statement on Thursday evening that it and the Yardley Borough Police Department investigated the video and "concluded that this video was fabricated in an attempt to undermine confidence in the upcoming election."