OpenAI Says It Shut Down Russian, Iranian Propaganda Networks Using ChatGPT

OpenAI announced that it has disabled influence operations that exploited its language model, ChatGPT, to produce disinformation. The company said the operations were linked to Russian and Iranian actors who used the AI system to generate and disseminate false content online.

The identified networks employed ChatGPT to create fake journalist personas and to craft articles that were then placed in media outlets around the world. In the Iranian operation, seven profiles were used, each claiming to be a journalist from a Western country, including the United States. These fabricated identities were used to plant long‑form articles in a variety of publications internationally.

The Russian effort was associated with a purported think tank that circulated anti‑Ukraine propaganda. The think tank’s output also relied on ChatGPT‑generated material to amplify its messaging across multiple platforms.

OpenAI stated that the shutdown of these networks is part of its broader strategy to prevent the misuse of its technology. The company said it continues to monitor for similar activities and will take further action if additional misuse is detected.