Signal Desk · Companies

OpenAI says it shut down Iran and Russia influence operations

2026-10-09 · 1 source · Economic Times ETtech

In short

OpenAI said on Thursday that it shut down two influence operations, one linked to Russia and one to Iran. The company said they used ChatGPT to make fake journalist personas and a covert “think-tank” to spread anti-Ukraine propaganda.

This matters because it shows how AI tools can be used for propaganda. The report does not say how long the activity lasted or what happened next.

What the reporting says

OpenAI said on Thursday that it shut down two influence operations, one from Russia and one from Iran, that used ChatGPT to create fake journalist personas and run a covert “think-tank” push against Ukraine. The company said the Russian operation co-opted unwitting people in Latin America through the Social Research Center. The reporting does not say how long the activity ran or whether any wider enforcement followed.

Why it matters

OpenAI said on Thursday that it shut down influence operations tied to Russia and Iran that used ChatGPT for fake journalist personas and covert propaganda work against Ukraine. The company also said the Russian operation used unwitting people in Latin America through the Social Research Center. That matters for AI safety, misinformation and geopolitical information campaigns, but the full scale and duration were not stated.

Touches: OpenAI, AI, Global, Government

Sources