Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) on Thursday asked Elon Musk, the owner of X, previously known as Twitter, and leaders of other social media platforms to remove a fake video from their sites, which he claimed is most likely a “production of Russian troll farms.”
The video, which has gone viral, purports to show a Haitian immigrant who allegedly moved to the U.S. six months ago holding multiple Georgia driver’s licenses and claiming to have voted multiple times in 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 said in a statement. “It is likely foreign interference attempting to sow discord and chaos on the eve of the 2024 Presidential election.”
Carlos Osorio/File via Associated Press
Raffensperger added that state partners and the federal Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency are working to identify 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 said. “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 while the original post featuring the video was taken down, the clip has continued to make the rounds on social media.
Last week, the U.S. intelligence community warned that the Kremlin would continue to disseminate media content with the intention of dividing Americans and creating distrust in the U.S. election system. The federal intelligence officials cited a recent fake video showing someone destroying mail-in ballots of people who voted for Trump in Pennsylvania, a key battleground in this election. They said it was created and shared by Russian actors.
Raffensperger has repeatedly sought to reassure Georgians about 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-Constitution published on Thursday.
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Musk, who endorsed Trump over the summer, has become a top surrogate for his campaign, holding events and donating millions in support of the former president’s White House bid.