A fake video of mail-in ballots from Bucks County destroying votes for Trump is circulating on social media

A video widely shared on social media purporting to show a person tearing up mail-in ballots for former President Donald Trump and other Republicans in Bucks County was fake and an attempt to undermine the upcoming election, authorities in that county said Thursday .

The video was posted on X, formerly Twitter, and shared by several conservative-leaning accounts. In the background of the video, a small sign that looks like the wall of an office cubicle reads: “Yardley Borough.”

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“BREAKING: Destruction of Trump mail-in ballots caught on camera in Bucks County, PA,” the post reads. “This shocking footage must be investigated immediately! If true, this could pose a serious threat to the integrity of the election. It’s becoming increasingly clear that this is the only way the Democrats believe they can win the election!”

The district attorney’s office and the Yardley Borough Police Department investigated the video and determined it was not legitimate.

“Our office is in contact with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which will attempt to locate the source of this fake video,” the DA’s office said.

The Bucks County Board of Elections also issued a bipartisan statement condemning the video. The Board of Elections determined that the ballots depicted in the video “are clearly not authentic materials” created and distributed by the county.

“This type of behavior is designed to sow division and distrust in our electoral systems and to ridicule the people who work incredibly hard to ensure a free and fair election is conducted,” said Board of Elections Chairman Bob Harvie and Vice President Diane Ellis Chairman Marseglia and Gene DiGirolamo said in a joint statement: “The Board of Elections unequivocally condemns this deliberate spread of dangerous disinformation. “We will not allow ourselves to be distracted from the task entrusted to us by the voters of Bucks County.”

The fake video is among numerous examples of election disinformation spread online in the run-up to the election. Philadelphia City Commissioner Seth Bluestein, a Republican, responded on Wednesday to a post by Elon Musk, the platform’s chief executive, saying Musk had shared a post that falsely claimed that a homeless charity in Philadelphia had used its address to help to collect thousands of ballots in the 2020 election.

The Bucks County Board of Elections said the fraudulent video of torn ballots was also reported to the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General and the Pennsylvania Department of State.