Intel officials reveal foreign actors behind ripped-up ballot hoax

A viral video that made the rounds online appearing to show an individual tearing up mail-in ballots in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, was debunked as a hoax by local officials. But the plot thickened even further on Friday — it turns out that the video was part of a Russian disinformation campaign.

This was confirmed in a joint statement issued by the FBI, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, or CISA.

"The IC assesses that Russian actors manufactured and amplified a recent video that falsely depicted an individual ripping up ballots in Pennsylvania, judging from information available to the IC and prior activities of other Russian influence actors, including videos and other disinformation activities," said the statement. "Local election officials have already debunked the video's content."

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"This Russian activity is part of Moscow's broader effort to raise unfounded questions about the integrity of the U.S. election and stoke divisions among Americans, as detailed in prior ODNI updates," the statement continued. "In the lead up to election day and in the weeks and months after, the IC expects Russia to create and release additional media content that seeks to undermine trust in the integrity of the election and divide Americans."

Russia infamously also interfered in previous elections, with their campaign to boost former President Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election laid out in detail in a report by former special counsel Robert Mueller.

While the Bucks County video was fake, there have been real incidents of apparent sabotage against mail-in ballots in some states around the country.

Earlier this week, a suspect was arrested on allegations of arson after a USPS collection box full of mail-in ballots was burned in a heavily Democratic precinct of Phoenix, Arizona, causing damage to some of the ballots. And in Florida, a contract postal worker faces federal charges after apparently dumping a load of mail including election materials and at least one mail-in ballot in the woods.