Fact Check: FBI Did NOT Warn About Illegal Printers Being Used To Make Passports To Vote Remotely

Did the FBI put out a warning about illegal printers being used to make passports for remote early voting? No, that’s not true: There is no evidence that the FBI released such a warning. The FBI did release a warning against the “inauthentic use of bureau name, insignia in promoting false election-related narratives” such as the one seen in the post.

The claim appeared in a post made on X on November 5, 2024. It opened:

The FBI is aware that illegal printers are operating in Europe to print U.S. passports. @FBI #FBIInternational @USAgov

Although the account was suspended at the time of this writing, this is how the post appeared on X earlier:

(Source: X screenshot taken by Lead Stories staff on Tue Nov 5 2024)

The fake warning read:

FBI appreciates the assistance of the DGSI

The FBI is aware that illegal print shops engaged in the printing of U.S. passports are operating in Europe. These documents are used for remote early voting in the U.S. presidential election.

On November 3, 2024, with the assistance of DGSI specialists, it was possible to detect and stop the operation of one illegal print shop in France. In total, more than 30 individuals involved in organizing the printing of fraudulent documents and voter fraud in the U.S. presidential election were detained.

The FBI appreciates the efforts of DGSI counterparts in the common struggle to ensure democratic and transparent election procedures. As in 2020, the FBI and the DGSI are working together to create a secure environment for the U.S. presidential election. In 2020, a similar rigging technique was actively used in remote voting to favor the U.S. Democratic candidate.

DGSI presumably stands for General Directorate for Internal Security, a French security agency.

Lead Stories could not locate the warning on the FBI’s press release website (archived here) or its social media pages (archived here).

A search of Google News (archived here) did not provide results corroborating the claim, same with a reverse image search using Google Lens (archived here).

Lead Stories contacted the FBI for comment and will update this fact check if it receives a response.

The FBI released a statement (archived here) on November 5, 2024, titled, “Inauthentic Use of Bureau Name, Insignia in Promoting False Election-Related Narratives.” It read:

The FBI was made aware of two instances of its name and insignia being misused in promoting false narratives surrounding the election. The first is a fabricated news clip purporting to be a terrorist warning issued by the FBI. The fabricated news clip reports falsely that the FBI purportedly stated that Americans should “vote remotely” due to a high terror threat at polling stations. This video is not authentic and does not accurately represent the current threat posture or polling location safety.

Additionally, a fabricated video containing a fabricated FBI press release alleges that the management of five prisons in Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Arizona rigged inmate voting and colluded with a political party. This video is also not authentic, and its contents are false.

Election integrity is among our highest priorities, and the FBI is working closely with state and local law enforcement partners to respond to election threats and protect our communities as Americans exercise their right to vote. Attempts to deceive the public with false content about FBI threat assessments and activities aim to undermine our democratic process and erode trust in the electoral system.

Lead Stories has previously written about research into Russian disinformation, with that research producing a report published in an October 2024 report (archived here) by Clemson University’s Media Forensics Hub on people behind the Russian disinformation campaign called Storm-1516.

The format of the post and video and “evidence” components match the template used by the Russian disinformation campaign.

Additional Lead Stories fact checks on claims concerning the 2024 presidential election can be found here. Additional Lead Stories fact checks on claims concerning Storm-1516 can be found here.