The FBI has been called in to investigate a fake video purporting to show ballots being destroyed in Pennsylvania.
The video, which was posted on X, formerly Twitter, appears to show an individual checking mail-in ballots and ripping up votes for Donald Trump while keeping votes for Kamala Harris.
Those sharing the video claim that it shows an employee at a Bucks County, Pennsylvania, polling place.
The clip has received at least 155,000 views in around 12 hours on X. Many of the commenters have noted that it does not look realistic, although others appeared to believe it depicted real vote tampering.
The video has been debunked as fake by the Bucks County Board of Elections. The Bucks County District Attorney’s office also announced that the FBI is aiding the District Attorney’s office in locating the source of the fabricated video.
Election materials are displayed on a table at the Santa Clara County registrar of voters office on October 21, 2024 in San Jose, California. A debunked video has been circulating on X which appears to show an election worker ripping up mail-in ballots for Trump.
Justin Sullivan/Getty images
After becoming aware of the video on October 24, the Bucks County Board of Elections issued a bipartisan statement saying: “This type of behavior is meant to sow division and distrust in our election systems, and makes a mockery of the people working incredibly hard to ensure a free and fair election is carried out.
“The Board of Elections unequivocally condemns this purposeful spreading of dangerous disinformation. We will not be distracted from the job the voters of Bucks County have entrusted to us.”
A further statement from the DA’s office says: “Our investigation has concluded that this video was fabricated in an attempt to undermine confidence in the upcoming election.”
In this photo illustration, the names of the candidates for the 2024 Presidential election appear on a vote-by-mail ballot on October 23, 2024 in Silver Spring, Maryland. The FBI has warned against election inteferrance from foreign powers, especially via online disinformation.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty images
Although the video is still on X, it now has a community note attached which reads “This video has been debunked as fake in a bi-partisan press release by the Bucks County Board of Elections and by the Bucks County Republican Committee.”
The fake video in Pennsylvania comes after Georgia election officials had to reassure the public that their votes were safe, following a bot attack on their online platform to request an absentee ballot.
Bucks County has been identified as a critical voting place in this election. It is a purple district in a purple state, and has been targeted by both campaigns in recent weeks.
Harris held an event at Bucks County on October 16 which focused on speaking to Republicans and former Trump supporters. It featured former GOP congressman Adam Kinzinger, who discussed his support for Harris.
Trump paid a very high profile visit to Bucks County over the weekend, when he visited a local McDonald’s to serve fries at a McDonalds and speak to voters.
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