Moscow rejected U.S. accusations that Russia was responsible for a fake video depicting a Haitian immigrant allegedly admitting to voting multiple times.
Three U.S. intelligence agencies issued a joint statement last week claiming that “Russian influence actors” created the video as part of “Moscow’s broader effort to cast doubt on the integrity of the U.S. election.” They also attributed another fake video to Russian actors.
In response, the Russian embassy in the United States released a statement on Telegram, saying, “We have taken note of the U.S. intelligence agencies’ accusations of our country spreading fabricated videos about election irregularities in the United States. We consider these allegations baseless.”
The 20-second clip shows a man speaking in a stilted, robotic tone, saying, “We are from Haiti. We came to America six months ago, and we already have our American citizenship – we’re voting Kamala Harris.”
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, the top election official in the swing state, described the video on Friday as an example of “targeted disinformation,” attributing it to “Russian troll farms” due to its “obviously fake” nature.
The embassy added that Russia had “not received any proof for these claims” in its communications with U.S. officials.
“As President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly emphasized, we respect the will of the American people. All insinuations about ‘Russian machinations’ are nothing more than malicious slander,” said the embassy in a statement the Russian foreign ministry echoed.
