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2 more Russian disinformation videos targeting U.S. election are circulating online, sources say
U.S. officials believe another two fake videos circulating online and publicly identified by the FBI as an attempt to push false election security claims are likely part of a Russia-backed malign influence campaign ahead of Tuesday’s presidential election, two sources familiar with the process told CBS News.
The news comes after the FBI said in a statement Saturday that the videos “are not authentic, are not from the FBI, and the content they depict is false.”
The agency said that one of the videos falsely claims “the FBI has apprehended three linked groups committing ballot fraud, and the second relates to first gentleman Doug Emhoff.”
The FBI in its statement did not say who was behind the videos, and when reached by CBS News, declined to comment further.
It added that the two videos — using Justice Department and FBI signage within them and images of Emhoff — were being circulated as part of “attempts to deceive the public with false content about FBI operations.”
The FBI did not attribute the creation of the propaganda to any actor.
Saturday’s disclosure brings to four the number of fake videos produced and distributed by Russia to mislead the American electorate that have been publicly identified in recent days by the U.S. government.
On Thursday, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said a video which purports to show Haitians claiming that they illegally voted for Harris is fake and likely the work of a Russian troll farm.
And in a joint statement Friday, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said the intelligence community “assesses that Russian influence actors” manufactured the video.
Another fake video that appears to show someone destroying mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania’s Bucks County is also fake, both state and federal officials said.
The ODNI, the FBI and the CISA said a statement Friday that “Russian actors manufactured and amplified” that video.
In recent weeks, U.S. intelligence and Microsoft have assessed that U.S. adversaries have been conducting influence campaigns to mislead voters in the 2024 election.
Both the U.S. government and Microsoft have said that Russia favors former President Donald Trump, while Iran favors Vice President Kamala Harris.
CBS News
Boeing machinists vote to accept labor contract, ending 7-week strike
Boeing’s 33,000 unionized machinists on Wednesday voted to approve the plane manufacturer’s latest contract offer, ending a seven-week strike that had halted production of most of the company’s passenger planes.
The union said 59% voted to accept the contract. Members have the option of returning to work as soon as Wednesday, but must be back at work by Tuesday, November 12, the union said in a statement.
Union leaders had strongly urged members to ratify the latest proposal, which would boost wages by 38% over the four-year life of the contract, up from a proposed increase of 35% that members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) had rejected last month.
The revised deal also provides a $12,000 cash bonus to hourly workers and increased contributions to retirement savings plans. The enhanced offer doesn’t address a key sticking point in the contentious talks — restoration of pensions — but Boeing would raise its contributions to employee 401K plans.
Average annual pay for machinists, now $75,608, would climb to $119,309 in four years under the current offer, Boeing said.
The vote came after IAM members in September and October rejected lesser offers by the Seattle-based aerospace giant.
“In every negotiation and strike, there is a point where we have extracted everything we can in bargaining and by withholding our labor,” the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers stated last week in backing Boeing’s revised offer. “We are at that point now and risk a regressive or lesser offer in the future.”
Acting U.S. Labor Secretary Julie Su has played an active role in the negotiations, after recently helping to end a days-long walkout that briefly closed East and Gulf Coast ports.
The Boeing strike that began on Sept. 13 marked the latest setback for the manufacturing giant, which has been the focus of multiple federal probes after a door plug blew off a 737 Max plane during an Alaska Airlines flight in January. The incident revived concerns about the safety of the aircraft after two crashed within five months in 2018 and 2019, killing 346 people.
Boeing in July agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud for deceiving regulators who approved the 737 Max.
During the strike, Boeing was unable to produce any new 737 aircraft, which are made at the company’s assembly plants in the Seattle area. One major Boeing jet, the 787 Dreamliner, is manufactured at a nonunion factory in South Carolina.
The company last month reported a third-quarter loss of $6.1 billion.
contributed to this report.
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