Technology
OpenAI bans Russian and Iranian networks running influence operations through ChatGPT
The operations deployed fabricated journalist personas and a Latin American front group to spread geopolitical propaganda.
The short version
- OpenAI banned clusters of accounts from Russia and Iran that leveraged ChatGPT to support covert influence campaigns across several nations.[France 24 · NPR]
- The Iranian campaign created seven false Western journalist personas to place roughly 100 articles in online outlets and post social media comments on the U.S.–Iran war.[France 24 · NPR]
- Russian operatives established a front think tank in Latin America using unwitting local staff to challenge Ukraine's reputation, while primarily using AI to draft internal status reports.[France 24 · NPR]
- OpenAI assessed that the Iranian network functioned like a commercial for-hire operation, though the exact sponsor remains unidentified.[NPR]
Key facts
- OpenAI announced it banned Russian and Iranian accounts utilizing ChatGPT to conduct covert influence operations across several nations.[France 24 · NPR]
- The Iranian campaign utilized seven fake personas posing as Western journalists to publish or syndicate nearly 100 articles across roughly a dozen media outlets.[France 24 · NPR]
- OpenAI reported that Russian actors set up the Social Research Center, a front think tank in Latin America that relied on unwitting local staff to disseminate anti-Ukraine narratives.[France 24 · NPR]
- Russian operatives impersonated an educational authority in Peru to prompt school activities involving Stepan Bandera, which later spurred comments from a Polish lawmaker.[NPR]
- OpenAI stated Russian operatives primarily used ChatGPT to draft reports for superiors, with generative AI representing only a small part of their overall workload.[NPR]
What remains uncertain
- OpenAI noted the Iranian operation matched the profile of a commercial for-hire campaign, but the organization could not identify the responsible sponsor.[NPR]
Sources
Outlet counts describe coverage, not independent confirmation. Reports may share a wire service or original source.