Official in US swing state warns of fake immigrant voter video, urges social media to take it down

By Yasin Gungor

ISTANBUL (AA) – A top official in the US state of Georgia – a key state in next week’s presidential elections – has warned of a fake video about an immigrant who supposedly voted in the presidential elections more than once.

Brad Raffensperger, secretary of state (the top election official) in the southern state, on Thursday urged X and other social media platforms to take down the fake video, which has gone viral, calling it "targeted disinformation" likely originating from Russia.

The video features an individual claiming to be Haitian with alleged multiple Georgia IDs claiming to have voted multiple times for Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris. The person also urged other Haitians to come to the United States.

"This is obviously fake and part of a disinformation effort. Likely it is a production of Russian troll farms," Raffensperger, a member of presidential candidate Donald Trump’s Republican Party, said on X.

He said state authorities are working with federal partners to investigate the video's origin. In US elections since 2016, federal agencies and congressional reports have accused Russia of trying to interfere, using disinformation to sway voters. Russia denies the accusations.

Raffensperger also called on X owner Elon Musk – a major supporter of Trump – and other social media leaders to remove the content, warning that foreign actors are attempting to sow discord ahead of the 2024 presidential election.

In September, Trump baselessly accused legal Haitian immigrants in the city of Springfield, Ohio of stealing and eating house pets and “destroying” the city’s “entire way of life.” Trump has pledged that if elected, on his first day in office he will begin the “largest deportation operation in American history” of immigrants.

Vice President Harris and former President Trump will face off in the 2024 US presidential election, which takes place next Tuesday, Nov. 5.

Trump currently has a narrow lead in most polls in Georgia, an important state for him to win under the US system for electing presidents, in which candidates gain victory by winning in individual states, rather than a nationwide popular vote.