OpenAI Shuts Down Russian and Iranian Influence Operations That Used Fake AI Journalists and Think Tanks

OpenAI has disclosed that it shut down two influence operations linked to Russia and Iran. Both used ChatGPT and other AI tools to create fake journalist personas and covert think tanks. According to OpenAI, these efforts successfully planted stories and narratives in mainstream news publications.

One cluster, which OpenAI calls "Dark Clark", is attributed to Russian actors and focused on Latin American politics and culture. It takes its name from Mia Clark, a fake AI persona presented as the leader of the Social Research Center, a supposed Latin American think tank. The content mainly aimed to damage Ukraine's reputation in the region, and also touched on political issues in Argentina and Bolivia. OpenAI described it as the most complex front identity operation it has disrupted in the past two and a half years. Evidence suggests the group's staff in Latin America did not know they were working for a Russian group.

The campaign included a TikTok video falsely claiming Ecuador's government was using shell companies to recruit citizens to fight for Ukraine, and fake audio clips of the Ukrainian consul in Ecuador insulting Ecuadorians. During protests in Bolivia in May, a fake audio clip of a state water company employee claimed water would be shut off to La Paz, prompting an official government denial. This article covers only the opening of the original report.