Protecting your vote: FBI, DHS issue alert saying foreign actors may try to influence election

Reporter: Rich Kolko
Published: Updated:
In this Sept. 8, 2020 photo, voting booths are kept socially distant at the Chesterfield, N.H. polling site. A majority of President Donald Trump’s supporters plan to cast their ballot on Election Day, while about half of Joe Biden’s backers plan to vote by mail. That’s according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research that finds 54% of voters say they will vote before polls open on Nov. 3.

With just 41 days until the election, the FBI and DHS issued an alert saying foreign actors may try to influence the election.

The disinformation campaign is getting worse. It’s coming mostly from foreign countries and it’s already happening.

“It’s primarily nation-state actors, mostly Russia. China also engages in foreign influence operations,” explained FBI Agent Andrew Sekela.

He says the goal is to change your mind, change your vote or just get you to not vote – and these actors often don’t even care who wins.

“They really just want to stoke the fires of both sides to inflame and cause further divisiveness and unrest,” Sekela said.

A lot of this is done via social media posts or by making videos, often with false or misleading information.

Sekela says to make sure you know the source of the information, and that may take a little homework. Also, beware of text messages claiming your polling location has changed.

The FBI recommends that you get information from trusted sources, verify reports about election results, and use official government websites.

If you do spot one of these fakes, report it to both the FBI and the website where you see it.

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