OpenAI bans Russian ChatGPT accounts used in covert misinformation campaign

Published Aug 25, 11:24 AM UTC

OpenAI announced on Tuesday that it had banned a cluster of ChatGPT accounts originating in Russia that were used to support a covert online influence campaign spreading misinformation. The company discovered the operation after investigating AI-generated social media posts, which led to a broader influence network. The campaign involved a website with copied academic work, a 'sovereignty index' favoring Russia, and efforts to hide the operators' Russian origins using VPNs. Operators prompted ChatGPT in Russian to generate comments on platforms like Substack, Telegram, X, Facebook, and LinkedIn, instructing it to conceal linguistic clues. The content promoted the International Burke Institute (IBI) and denigrated Western countries. OpenAI noted that while the immediate impact was limited, the infrastructure built could be scaled over time, illustrating how AI can be used to manufacture authority and obscure narrative sources. This is the latest incident of pro-Russia actors using AI for misinformation, following a February shutdown of accounts linked to pro-Russia media company Rybar.