This story originally appeared as part of NPR's live coverage of the 2024 election. For more election coverage from the NPR Network head to .
On Tuesday evening, the FBI called out three fake videos and press releases, which it says are the latest in a series 鈥渄esigned to mislead the American public鈥� about the 2024 election.
The hoaxes include a fabricated statement from the FBI to journalists and bloggers 鈥渁gainst publishing information about violence at polling stations,鈥� claiming that doing so could provoke more such incidents.
Another fake is a video impersonating the FBI and another federal agency, making a joint statement suggesting schools suspend in-person classes through Nov. 11 because 鈥渢he risk of school shooting and riots has increased significantly鈥� due to the election.
A third fake video claims the bureau received 鈥�9,000 complaints about malfunctioning voting machines鈥� that were allegedly submitting votes for one candidate.
The FBI said in each case, the fake is 鈥渘ot authentic, is not from the FBI, and its contents are false.鈥�
The bureau has warned about and statements using its name and insignia to of voter fraud and security warnings in recent days. Researchers at , which tracks Russian disinformation, has said the fakes are likely created by Russia.
America's geopolitical adversaries, particularly Russia, Iran, and China, have been active in trying to influence this year's election, as part of their larger goals to sow chaos and discredit democracy.
Russia , as it did in the previous two presidential elections, while is trying to undermine the former president, intelligence officials and private-sector researchers say. does not appear to have a preference in the presidential race, but has targeted congressional races.
All three regularly seize on divisive issues, from immigration to abortion to Israel's war in Gaza, to exacerbate discord among Americans. And they've all experimented with using to churn out more .
The stakes could be even higher after Nov. 5 as foreign adversaries are expected to boost and manufacture their own material to cast doubt on the results. is behind a showing ballots being destroyed in Pennsylvania that circulated widely on social media last week, for example.
On Monday, a joint statement from federal agencies : "Influence actors linked to Russia in particular are manufacturing videos and creating fake articles to undermine the legitimacy of the election, instill fear in voters regarding the election process, and suggest Americans are using violence against each other due to political preferences."
Foreign countries are better prepared to exploit the potential uncertainty of the post-election period this year, thanks to what they learned from the 2020 cycle and a better understanding of what happens after polls close, a recently declassified concluded.
Russia and Iran could even escalate to inciting violence, by stoking threats towards election workers and promoting protests, intelligence officials have said.
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NPR's Camila Domonoske contributed to this report.
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