The FBI warns of two fake videos as officials crack down on election disinformation

The FBI warned Americans on Tuesday about two new fake videos that falsely cite terror threats and election fraud. This is the latest in a series of disinformation that officials expect to intensify as voters go to the polls on Election Day and in the weeks afterward.

One fake video purporting to be from federal law enforcement falsely cited a high terror threat and urged Americans to “vote remotely,” while another video contained a fake press release claiming to be from law enforcement , and it involved rigged votes among inmates in five prisons .

Both were “not authentic,” the Federal Bureau of Investigation said in a statement. “Attempts to deceive the public with false content about FBI threat assessments and activities are aimed at undermining our democratic process and undermining trust in the electoral system.”

Federal, state and local officials have warned Americans against attempts to undermine the election with false information and urged U.S. voters to seek credible information from reliable sources.

U.S. intelligence agencies have also said this year’s contest faced an unprecedented disinformation campaign by foreign adversaries and that Russia and others aimed to stoke divisive narratives during the election, an accusation Russia has denied.

On Monday, U.S. intelligence agencies said they expect influence operations abroad to “intensify leading up to Election Day and in the coming weeks,” particularly in the seven key battleground states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Still, Jen Easterly, director of the U.S. Cybersecurity Agency, said that despite the rise in disinformation, her department has seen no evidence of activity that could directly impact the outcome of Tuesday’s election.

US intelligence agencies blamed Russia last week for a false video purporting to show a Haitian immigrant claiming to have voted multiple times in the US state of Georgia. Over the weekend, the FBI warned of several more fake videos.