The FBI is fighting back against alleged videos with false claims

The FBI said Wednesday that three videos purporting to be from the FBI questioning the integrity of Tuesday’s U.S. presidential election were false and inauthentic. They called them the latest in a series of fake videos that purported to come from the FBI while spreading rumors about nonexistent election integrity problems.

What kind of videos were those? One of the videos the FBI criticized on Wednesday said authorities were investigating more than 300 cases of voter bribes. Another video claimed that an American social media company reported that separatist groups’ videos were trending on social media and had reached an audience of around 40 million accounts, the FBI said. That video falsely claimed that the FBI had requested the accounts be suspended, the agency said. Another video claimed the office was investigating voter-buying programs conducted using ballots at military bases overseas.

The office’s statement Wednesday also criticized a fourth video. This purportedly contained a fake news segment that said federal authorities were urging newsrooms across the country not to publish information about widespread voter bribery. The FBI disputed the video’s claims and insisted it was fake.

All four videos did not come from the FBI, were not authentic and contained false information, the FBI said. The agency urged anyone interested to check with their local election offices about the election and report any suspicious activity to local law enforcement.

Dig Deeper: Listen to Paul Butler and Harrison Watter’s report The world and everything in it Podcast about disinformation on social media.