OpenAI shuts down Russian and Iranian ChatGPT influence operations

OpenAI says it has shut down two influence operations linked to Russia and Iran that used ChatGPT to create fake journalist personas and support a false-front think tank promoting anti-Ukraine messaging. The company said the activity was designed to look like legitimate media and policy work while covertly pushing geopolitical narratives. It said the operations relied on AI-generated content and social media activity to widen their reach.

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According to OpenAI, the Iranian operation used seven profiles posing as Western journalists, including from the United States, to place long-form articles in media outlets around the world. The company said it identified almost 100 articles published or syndicated under the operation's bylines across roughly a dozen online outlets. It added that the outlets were generally small to medium-sized and focused on international affairs, geopolitics and events in the Middle East.

OpenAI said the earliest article it identified was published in July 2025 and the latest in October 2026, with the pace of publication increasing after the US-Iran war broke out earlier this year. The operation also generated social media comments on topics related to that war, according to the company. OpenAI said one persona, using the name Ervin B.

Hoskins, claimed to be an American freelance writer and had accounts on several social platforms. The Russian operation, meanwhile, was described as using unwitting people in Latin America to run a think tank called the Social Research Center, or SRC. OpenAI said the group was used as a false-front entity for geopolitical and conflict-related messaging.

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The company said it banned a cluster of ChatGPT accounts originating in Russia and Iran that were tied to these activities. The case highlights how generative AI tools can be used to scale influence campaigns by producing plausible personas, articles and online engagement at low cost. It also shows how such operations can cross borders, using media placement and social platforms to reach audiences far from the countries where the campaigns originate.

For governments and technology companies, the episode adds to concerns about the use of AI in information warfare and covert political messaging. OpenAI did not say how many people were behind the operations or whether the accounts were directly controlled by state agencies. It also did not identify all of the outlets that carried the material.

What remains unclear is the full extent of the networks, how long they operated undetected and whether any of the content remains online. The company's findings suggest more disclosures may follow as platforms continue to review coordinated influence activity.

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