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Morgan Freeman Angers Russians Over Video About 2016 Election

The actor Morgan Freeman drew criticism from Russians after narrating a video that raises concerns about Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.Credit...Richard Shotwell/Invision, via Associated Press

The investigation into Russian meddling during the 2016 presidential election features a cast of what by now are household names: Donald J. Trump, Vladimir V. Putin, Paul J. Manafort and Robert S. Mueller III.

A two-minute video posted online this week added another well-known — albeit unlikely — name to that lineup: Morgan Freeman.

Mr. Freeman, the actor whose low-pitched voice exudes authority and is readily recognizable from scores of movies and narrations, has antagonized some Russian officials for his appearance in the video, which was posted by the Committee to Investigate Russia, a new group that seeks to raise awareness about Russia’s involvement in the election.

His appearance in the video prompted a hashtag on Twitter, #StopMorganLie, with many of the posts in Russian, and unflattering descriptions from Russian news outlets, one of which called him an “American propaganda loudspeaker” repeating “Russophobic clichés,” the BBC reported.

Text posted with the video on YouTube said, “Russia is waging war on the U.S. — Morgan Freeman explains why we need to pay attention before it’s too late.”

Mr. Freeman looks at the camera and intones: “We have been attacked. We are at war.”

In the video, Mr. Freeman accuses Mr. Putin, the Russian president, of secretly using cyberwarfare around the world “like the true K.G.B. spy he is.”

The Russians have used propaganda and false information to undermine world democracies and to sow distrust of their news media, their political processes and “even their neighbors,” Mr. Freeman continues, often pausing for dramatic effect.

“We need our president to speak directly to us and tell us the truth,” he says. Then, taking a seat behind a desk, Mr. Freeman outlines remarks that he says President Trump ought to make.

Mr. Freeman is no stranger to presidential politics — at least of the fictional kind. In the 2013 movie “Olympus Has Fallen,” he played a speaker of the House who becomes the acting president after the president and vice president are taken hostage during an attack on the White House.

But Mr. Freeman’s dabbling in real-world politics provoked sharply worded criticisms from Russian officials and news outlets.

The BBC reported that the Rossiya 24 news channel had assembled psychiatrists who attributed his comments to a Messianic complex resulting from playing God in several films. Vadim Zavodchenkov, a weatherman for the channel, said Mr. Freeman was ill because of “overwork and marijuana use.”

Mr. Putin’s press secretary, Dmitri S. Peskov, said the accusations in the video were “groundless and of an exclusively emotional character,” the BBC reported.

Representatives for Mr. Freeman did not respond to emails on Friday evening.

Rob Reiner, the actor and producer, announced the creation of the Committee to Investigate Russia this week on Twitter. He described it as trying to help Americans “recognize and understand the gravity of Russia’s continuing attacks on our democracy.”

Congressional committees are investigating, among other things, the Russian government’s involvement in the election through an extensive social media campaign, targeted online ads and other methods. Mr. Mueller, the special counsel, is also investigating connections between Russia and Mr. Trump and his associates, including whether they conspired to influence the election.

On Twitter on Friday, Mr. Trump called the investigations a “hoax” and said the “Fake News Media” wielded the greatest influence by supporting the Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton.

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